Chash's Idea Bin
by Chash123
Summary: A place where my one-shots and ideas can be written down. Likely that the stuff within won't become full-fledged stories, but they may become two-shots, three-shots, and so on. Note: Naruto won't be the only series in this.
1. Kakashi meets 'Team Seven':

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Kakashi Meets 'Team Seven':

* * *

Hatake Kakashi popped his head into Umino Iruka's classroom and got his first look at his would-be students. Granted, it wouldn't be the first time he had seen them. He had seen their pictures in the reports the Academy had given him.

The first of the would-be Genin he noticed was Sakura. She had traded out the red dress she wore in her photo for a white one with long sleeves, one of which was covering her mouth as she read. She also had three white hairclip-like extensions on the right side of her hair, just above the three pink dots that ran down her cheek.

The next one he noticed was Naruto, who was standing next to and looking out of a window. He had undergone a drastic change; swapping his previous orange outfit for a white dress shirt with a half-white, half-orange ankle-length jacket. He had also dyed his hair—the left side orange and the right side white—to match his new outfit.

Looking, Kakashi spotted his final student, Sasuke, sitting away from Sakura with a slap mark on his cheek. Like his teammates, he too seemed to have traded in his outfit; a long-sleeved blue coat, blue pants, black boots, and white gloves. To finish his new look, Sasuke's hair had been flattened, no longer sticking up in the back.

"Hmm... My first of impression of you guys is…" Kakashi mused aloud—instantly earning the attention of all three would-be Genin. "You're colorblind. Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

XXXXXX

Once the three would-be Genin had arrived, Kakashi shut his book. "Okay. Let's start with introducing ourselves, shall we?"

"What do you want to know?" Sakura asked.

"Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future…" Kakashi shrugged. "That kind of thing. Why don't you go first, since you asked?"

"I'm Haruno Sakura. I like to read and to practice calligraphy ... My dislikes include perverts—" She glared at Sasuke, who was still sulking. "—and people who are too stupid for their own good. My dream for the future?" She paused, thinking about it. "My dream is to surpass Tsuande-sama."

"Alright, next." Kakashi gestured to Naruto while he wondered what could've made Sakura, who was said to have a crush on Sasuke in her reports, suddenly dislike him.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto…" Naruto began calmly. "My likes include Tsunade-sama and medicine in general. My dislikes… water… My dream for the future…"

Now Kakashi was getting a bit worried. Something was definitely wrong here if Naruto Uzumaki didn't mention his dream to become Hokage and Sakura had seemed to gain an intense dislike for Sasuke overnight. What had happened to his would-be students?

Pushing these concerns aside, Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "Why don't you go next?"

"... I'm Uchiha Sasuke." Sasuke said calmly, apparently out of his earlier funk. "I like girls—" He spared a glance at Sakura, who sniffed. "—and spending time with them. I dislike paperwork." He put a gloved finger to his chin. "And my dream? I want to become the next Hokage."

And, just like that, Kakashi's earlier concern can back, full-force. '_How could they have all changed so quickly? While Naruto is still wearing orange, he isn't shifting about and didn't raise his voice once since I've met him! Sakura has grown much more mature than she was but also colder... I believe she even believes that Sasuke is weaker than her somehow.'_

Kakashi paused mid-thought. _'And Sasuke... His personality has changed the most. According to his file, he had both an inferiority and superiority complex... But now... He actually seems relatively normal... a bit perverted, but normal.' _He frowned. _'What happened to these three?'_

"-ello? Are you paying attention?" Sasuke demanded with an irritated scowl.

Kakashi blinked, "What were you saying?"

"Hmph! Some teacher you'll be! You are already showing that you don't pay us that much attention!" Sasuke bit out angrily before he frowned, crossing his arms.

"Sasuke—" Kakashi began.

"Sensei, what Sasuke was trying to ask was 'would you care to introduce yourself?'" Naruto interuppted before he took a sip out of the glass of wine he had just pulled out from... somewhere. "... Well?"

Kakashi gstared at Naruto for a couple of moments, "I'm Hatake Kakashi. My likes... are to inappropriate for young, impressionable children like yourselves to hear. My dislikes..." He paused. "... are none of your business. And my dream for the future..."

"What?"

Sighing, Sakura grabbed Sasuke by the back of the boy's blue uniform as he tried to lunge at Kakashi. There was murder in the boy's eyes as he struggled within Sakura's surprisingly-strong grasp.

Realizing that he would be unable to break free, Sasuke frowned before he moved his hands. A dangerous spark appeared in his eyes before he tried to snap his fingers.

"My, my..." Naruto said as he grabbed onto Sasuke's hand, "I don't think you should do that... I mean, why reveal our skills before tomorrow's test..?"

Kakashi's eyes widened fractionally, _'How does he know about the test?' _

However, before Kakashi could ask, Naruto placed his right hand on Sakura's right shoulder. In the next second, all three of his would-be students vanished within a burst of static-like sound.

"What just happened?"

XXXXXX

(Konohagakure no Sato—Third Training Ground)

Somehow, despite the fact that he had never stated where his would-be students' test would take place—or at what time—they had found out.

Sasuke frowned at the sight of him, "Oh, it's _you_."

"Now, now Sasuke... is that anyway to treat someone that might become our Sensei?" Naruto asked chidingly from where he stood nearby, leaning against a tree while he sipped at his wine.

Sasuke's frown grew deeper before he glared at Naruto, only for the other to take another sip of his wine. If he didn't need that emotionless bastard, he would've burned him to a crisp by now.

"You should stop acting so immaturely, Sasuke." Sakura murmurred from behind her left sleeve, frowning. "It makes you appear far weaker than you actually are..."

Sasuke's earlier anger disipatted at the sound of that voice. He looked at her with a mixture of hurt and longing, as she was the only woman to have ever resisted his charms. Furthermore, she had even slapped him! However, instead of being deterred, that only made him more eager to win her over.

Kakashi clapped his hands together, interuptting the three and drawing their attention to him. "Okay! We'll begin the test right after I explain how it works—"

"—About time."

Kakashi pretended he didn't hear that, instead drawing out a small alarm clock and then putting it on a nearby tree-stump. "This alarm clock is set for noon." He pulled out a pair of bells and tied them to his belt. "Your task is to get one of these bells before noon."

"There are only two bells." Sakura pointed out.

"I'm glad that you noticed that Sakura!" Kakashi said, left eye shifting into an upside-down U. "You see... one of you three is already going to fail and be sent back to the academy." He shrugged. "Who that is depends on who gets the bells first. Now, any questions?"

"... Are we allowed to use shuriken and kunai?" Sasuke asked, eyes glinting.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes, you'll be allowed to use them. In fact, you best come at me with the intent to kill... otherwise, you'll never be able to get a bell."

"Of course."

"Now... Ready—" Naruto assumed a loose stance. "Set—" Sakura took a step backwards before she began to raise her right arm, a pink glow begining to form around her sleeve. Sasuke pulled on his right gloove with a 'snap'. "Go!"

By this point, the pink glow around Sakura's sleeve had become a massive sphere of pink energy. With a single punch from her left hand, she fired the sphere, which then transformed into a dark-pink beam. "Cero (Zero)!"

_'What the hell?'_

Kakashi quickly jumped to the side with a chakra-enfused leap, only to hear a 'snap'. A second later, the bottom of his flak jacket, near the bells, began to burn. Confused and alarmed, he quickly pat the fire down before he landed.

In the next second, both Naruto and Sakura were in his face. Kakashi leaned backwards to avoid the pair of—scissors—that Naruto's left hand had become, avoiding decapitation. He put a hand to the ground before he twisted around, knocking Sakura's feet out from under her, before he summersaulted to the right.

As he landed Kakashi's leg pulsed with pain. _'What the hell? It feels like I just kicked a steel bar!'_

Kakashi had barely gotten to his feeet before Naruto was in his face again. Both of the boy's arms—and his legs—had been transformed into scissors, which he lunged at Kakashi with.

While Kakashi was able to successfully dodge and parry most of the strikes, the speed at which they were sent at him insured that a few got past his guard. This left him with several shallow cuts that allowed a small amount of blood to trickle over his face, with one cut being dangerously close to his left eye.

Using a quick Substitution, Kakashi replaced himself with a nearby leaf. He was then allowed a momentary breather where he thought about the skills his students had just displayed. _'Naruto must've developed his own version of the standard Transformation jutsu... but, the speed at which he attacked is increcible... it was way above what I expected from a Genin. And Sakura... when I hit her, it felt like I was hitting steel. Not to mention that attack of—'_

There was a rustle of leaves from behind Kakashi, only to see a flash of dark hair. _'Sasuke.'_ In the next second, the wood underneath him lunged upwards as spikes. Eyes widening, he leapt away. _'Did he just manipulate—?' _

Fire. Kakashi bit back a curse as he ripped away his burning face-mask, reminded of how his flak jacket had burst into flames earlier. It seemed that Sasuke had been the cause of that. But how? Was it some sort of Ninjutsu from the Uchiha Clan?

"Kīpu Aoto (Keep Out)!"

Kakashi turned in time to see several long, thick pieces of earth rushing towards him at a rapid speed. He quickly landed on a nearby tree-branch before he jumped upwards, only for his flak jacket and pants to burst into flames as Sakura appeared above him, her right leg held high above her head.

He mangaged to cross his arms over his head to shield it seconds before Sakura's leg connected with it. He felt a couple of his bones break and shatter moments before the force of her attack sent him rocketing towards the ground. When he hit it, a massive cloud of smoke formed as the ground cratered.

Sasuke jumped down from a nearby tree-branch, "Don't you—"

Kakashi's hands lunged up from beneath the ground and grabbed onto Sasuke's ankles, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen, before he was pulled into the earth. Seconds later, Kakashi appeared above ground, standing a bit away from Sasuke, who was chin-deep in earth.

"Lesson #1: Don't think you've defeated an enemy until you have assured he is unconsicous or dead." Kakashi stated before he turned towards Sakura—who was _floating in mid-air—_and Naruto, who was staring at him from a nearby tree-branch. "Well?"

Sakura frowned, "It appears your much stronger than I thought you were..." The tip of a sai appeared from the edge of her left sleeve as her eyes narrowed. "... Let's go, Naruto."

With that, Sakura disappeared with a burst of static before she reappeared behind Kakashi, her sai lunging for Kakashi's throat. He managed to parry the blow with a kunai, though the strength of her blow was slowly pushing him back.

"O Kanabashi (Great Tongs)!" Naruto annouced as he rushed towards Kakashi, the giant scissors that his arms had become cutting up anything that came into their path.

Knowing that he had to dodge, Kakashi quickly grabbed onto Sakura's arm and twisted around before he sent her flying towards Naruto's approuching form. The two collided with a massive 'oof' before they tumbled over the ground, kicking up a fair amount of dirt.

"I'm going to _roast you alive!_"

Kakashi barely had the time to turn around before the ground around him erupted with flames. He jumped back again as an unearthed Sasuke snapped his fingers, causing Kakashi's flak jacket to catch fire. Landing, he abandoned the protective jacket by hurling it towards Sasuke. Then, seizing his chance, he used a Subsitution to replace himself with a log.

Panting, Kakashi came to a rest within the underbrush. "I just gotta keep it up for a little while longer..."

He winced when he noticed trees catching fire 100 feet before he caught a flash of white in the corner of his vision. He turned around and got a sandaled foot to the face, the force of the blow breaking his nose as it sent him towards the burning forest.

'Snap'. Kakashi screamed as what seemed to be his entire body caught fire. He crash landed on the ground a few seconds later, still burning, as upturned earth rushed to cover him. Rolling, he managed to dodge the earth that threatened to entomb him as well as put out most of the fire.

Before Kakashi could do anything else, he caught sight of two giant, sharpened pieces of metal on each side of his throat. "Just hand me the bells, Sensei. I wouldn't want to decapitate you..."

Just seconds before Kakashi would've leaned forward to escape from his would-be student's grasp, the earth underneath him rumbled ominously. He got a brief flashback to when wood had lunged up at him before the earth surged upwards and consumed everything from his shoulders downward.

Sasuke walked into view, scowling. "I should just burn you now, while I have the chance." He gestured to his dirty, ruffled clothing angrily. "Do you know how expensive it to get this clean?"

"You burned my clothes, I dirtied yours..." Kakashi countered with an uncharacteristic frown. "I think that it'll cost me more to _replace_ my clothing than you just _cleaning_ yours."

Before Sasuke could say anything, or snap his fingers and set Kakashi's tongue aflame, Sakura blurred into view. The tip of her sai emerged from her sleeve as she placed it against Kakashi's throat, tickling it with the cold metal.

"It would be best if you handed over the bells now... Otherwise, I don't think I'll be able to convince that monkey over there to not roast you." Sakura stated.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, "And how do you expect me to do that? From the neck-down I'm encased in solid rock, I have two weapons threatening to cut my throat open if I attempt to move, and..." He paused. "I don't like you."

"I'll handle this."

There was a faint 'sniping' sound as Naruto used the arm-scissors that weren't at Kakashi's throat to cut away at the rock near Kakashi's waist. Strangely, once cut, the stone acted as if it was some kind of paper and was easily grabbed and thrown away.

Soon enough, Naruto managed to remove enough earth that the bells came into view. It was somewhat sloppy as he couldn't clearly see where he had been cutting—leading to several new cuts for Kakashi—though at least he didn't free the man's hands.

Just as Sakura reached with her unoccupied hand to grab the bells, the sound of Kakashi's alarm clock blaring was heard. This caused all three would-be Genin to groan, frown, or curse while Kakashi grinned. Hah! Even with their unique, strange, and unexplainable new personalities and powers, he had still _technically_ won!

* * *

Techniques:

1. Cero (Zero): It is a standard energy blast, consisting of first charging and then firing a concentrated blast of Reiatsu towards a target. While in most cases it is fired from the mouth, some Arrancar and Visored are capable of firing Cero from their hands, fingers and other parts of their bodies.

2. Kīpu Aoto (Keep Out): After turning his hands into scissors through the Choki Choki no Mi, Naruto will then cut up several slabs from the area around him before he hurls them at his opponent.

3. O Kanabashi (Great Tongs): After turning his hands into giant scissors through the use of the Choki Choki no Mi, Naruto charges while cutting up anything beside him.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **Okay, that's the end of my take on the Insanely Overpowered Team Seven idea that both Highvalour and Legendary Legacy have done.

If anyone hasn't caught it, here are the characters that Team Seven have been turned into. Naruto has become Inazuma from One Piece, Sakura has become Cyan Sung-Sun from Bleach, and Sasuke has become Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist.


	2. Ninja Clash in Nami no Kuni:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

_'Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Ninja Clash in Nami no Kuni:

* * *

(Konohagakure no Sato—Mission Assignment Desk)

"What's this?" Tazuna muttered as he entered the room and stared at the four 'Ninja' that would be guarding him. "You're just a bunch of super brats… Especially that short one with the orange and white hair. Are you really a ninja?"

The orange-and-white haired brat cocked his head to the side, "I can assure you that I am quite capable as a Ninja, client-san."

'… _Huh? I expected that brat to yell at my for me super insult…'_ Tazuna frowned.

The lean, silver-haired man stepped forward. "I can assure you that my Team can handle a C-rank Mission." Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "In fact, they could probably do handle this mission without me—"

"No." The Sandaime Hokage cut in, looking at the silver-haired man with a disproving frown on his wrinkled face. "Your three students are Genin only just out of the Academy, Kakashi!"

"Yeah, _Kakashi-sensei..." _The black-haired brat in a blue uniform said with a sickenly-sweet smile on his face. Kakashi shuddered "We 'just got out from the Academy'..." He looked Kakashi right in the eye, "_We need you_."

Kakashi shuddered again with Tazuna right alongside him. While he knew that last comment wasn't directed at him, something in the brat's tone caused him to feel as if it was his life on the line. But that was ridiculous, right? These were just brats! There was no need to be afraid of them.

Later, Tazuna would look back and regret not running away as fast as he could. If he did, then he probably would've kept his narrow world-view and much of his sanity.

XXXXXX

(Later—Hi no Kuni—Road)

At the moment, you could find Team Seven—and Tazuna—walking down a simple road. Kakashi had his nose buried in the latest,_ fire-proof_ edition of Icha Icha while Naruto was sipping some wine from his ever-present glass. Behind them, Sasuke was attempting to talk to Sakura, who was ignoring him completely.

Hey, at least it was better than a week ago! If he had attempted to charm Sakura then, she would've slapped him in the face and call him an 'idiot'. Progress!

It was because of the Team's general lack of awareness that they didn't seem to mind the puddle in the middle of the road ahead from them. However, as soon as Team Seven passed it, the cloaked visages of Gōzu and Meizu emerged from it.

Deciding to get rid of the strongest person first, the so-called 'Demon Brothers' lunged into action. Racing forward, they quickly wrapped their bladed chain around the Jōnin. The man exclaimed in apparent shock before the Demon Brothers pulled at their chains, cutting him into bloodied chunks.

"One little piggy..." Meizu snickered as he and his brother straightened the chain, directing their attention to the remainder of the group. "Four little piggies to go!"

Sasuke looked at the approuching figures for a moment before he snapped his gloved fingers. Both brother's were instantly consumed in identical fireballs which caused them to scream as their flesh began to burn. As the metal on the Brothers melted, he glared at their screaming forms. "Only I get to attempt to kill Kakashi-sensei!"

Tazuna's face turned green.

"Now, now..." Kakashi said as he reappeared on a nearby tree-branch, "Could you stop burning them, Sasuke? I'll need them alive if I'm going to interrogate them for the reason they attacked us."

Sasuke crossed his arms with a snort, "If you wanted to interrogate them, then you shouldn't have pretended to have been captured by them and killed..." He looked up at Kakashi challengingly. "Unless you want people _roasted_, you do the capturing!"

'Snip'. 'Snip'.

Everything that had been burning on the Demon Brothers' bodies was suddenly cut off before it was flung away, courtesy of Naruto. Gōzu and Meizu turned around to see who had saved them—wanting to thank him as the Jōnin had done nothing to help them—only to find a pair of closed, giant scissors at their throats. "Don't move..."

"Now." Sakura said as she stepped forward and released a torrent of pink Reiatsu from her body, the pressure anchoring both Brothers to their position. "Now... you two baboons will tell us why you decided to attack us.. If not, my comrade will decapitate you or he—" Sakura pointed to Sasuke, who perked up slightly. "will burn you to a crisp."

Gōzu and Meizu spared each other a brief glance.

XXXXXX

"So..." Kakashi began as he glared at Tazuna. "A greedy little midget has taken over your country and has hired the 'Demon of the Mist' Zabuza Momochi to kill you... Not to mention all of the other Missing Ninja like the Demon Brothers that Zabuza has with him." His glare grew in intensity. "And you expected a Team of Genin to protect you?"

Tazuna looked up with sheepish look that would've been cute on anybody 30 years younger than him, "... Yes?"

"... C'mon, Team..." Kakashi spun around and began walking in the direction towards Nami no Kuni. Upon hearing only three sets of footsteps behind him, Kakashi turned back and looked at Tazuna. The old man appeared gobsmacked and was staring at him strangely. "... What?"

"Why would...? I don't..." Tazuna tried, shaking his head. "How could...?" He glanced at the three 'brats' looking at him, shuddering upon seeing Sasuke. "... Nevermind." Shifting his bag, he looked at Kakashi, "Lead away."

XXXXXX

(Nami no Kuni—Forest)

"Why, if it isn't 'Kakashi no Sharingan'!" Zabuza Momochi said as he overlooked the group from his perch on Kubikiribocho—which he had flung into the side of a tree, ten feet above the ground. His eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry but..." He pointed at the Old Man. "The Old Man is mine."

Kakashi didn't even looked up from his book, "I think you'll have to get through my Team first, Zabuza-san." He smiled to himself. _'Yes! Zabuza is a high-level Missing Ninja that has no problem killing... so he should be able to get rid of _them!' He paused. _'Sure I'll get in trouble for 'leading them to their deaths' but... _I won't have to deal with them anymore_.'_

"You actually want me to slaughter your Team?"

"... Huh? You're _still_ not attacking?" Kakashi asked with a frown. "I expected better of you! I mean, here I am offering up my cute little Genin to you before we begin our battle... You should _want_ to kill them as they could provide unneeded distractions."

Sasuke turned towards Kakashi, "After we kill Zabuza, we're coming after _you_."

"Hah!" Zabuza snorted, offended. "How is it that you brats believe that you can kill me? I was—!"

Zabuza was never able to finish as, at that moment, Sakura appeared above him with her fist cocked. Eyes widening, he quickly jumped downwards, ripping Kubikiribocho free of the tree within a shower of wooden debris. It was lucky that he did so as, seconds later, the place he had been was oblierated by Sakura's punch.

_'What the hell?' _Zabuza thought. It was only moments later that Naruto was upon him, his arms in the form of giant scissors. Zabuza quickly raised Kubikiribocho in time to block the sudden attack which caused sparks to fly. _'Is that some form of Transformation? I don't—!'_

'Snap'. Zabuza roared in pain as Kubikiribocho was suddenly set on fire, causing him to release the burning metal. Before Naruto's scissors could cut into him though, Zabuza quickly jumped backwards. Things had just gotten seriois.

"Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique)!"

Pearly white mist sprung up from around Zabuza's outstreched hand before it began to cover the clearing. Before anyone could react to the sudden change, Zabuza quickly retrieved his weapon.

XXXXXX

One could currently find Uchiha Sasuke on the ground in the fetal position while in some sort of funk. Just before Zabuza had activated his jutsu, he had attempted to set Zabuza's body on fire. With the release of the Kirigakure no Jutsu, however, he had found himself suddenly unable to do it.

Naruto turned his head, "What is the matter with you, Sasuke-san? Did Zabuza-san manage to wound you?"

"No..." Anime-like tears fell from Sasuke's eyes. How could Sakura have said for him to 'stay out of the way' and call him 'worthless'? Dammnit, it wasn't his fault that he couldn't use his flames! "I... I just have something in my eye..."

"There is no time for moping, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke's head snapped upwards, "I wasn't 'moping'!"

"Of course you weren't Sasuke-san." Naruto said before he suddenly rushed forward, arms shifting into giant scissors. Sasuke stayed where he was, seething at what his so-called 'teammate' had implied before he had fled... _like a coward!_

_'That _bastard_! I'll show him I wasn't moping!' _

XXXXXX

It was only twenty seconds after he had used Kirigakure no Jutsu that Zabuza found himself engaged in battle once more. That pink-haired girl had somehow detected him in this thick mist. At the time, he had wondered if the girl was actually a Sensory Ninja or not.

Now, however, more concerns about this strange girl were popping up. Each move that the girl made made was powered by freakish strength that had already broken a few of his bones. In retalliation, he had attempted to cut her with Kubikiribocho, only to grow surprised when it left something similar to a _papercut_.

Just what _was_ this girl?

After dodging a blow from the girl's sai which would've impaled him through the head, Zabuza jumped backwards. He rushed through a series of one-handed hand-seals and, finishing, released his jutsu. In an instant, over a dozen clones sprung up from the mist and rushed towards the girl.

_'Let's see how see deals with tha—'_

The earth underneath Zabuza's feet suddenly surged upwards and attempted to swallow him whole. _'Doton Ninjutsu?'_ He quickly replaced himself with a nearby rock.

"Cero (Zero)."

Turning, Zabuza saw a massive pink beam explode out from the girl's fist. Each clone that this beam hit gasped before it erupted into water which was then _vaporized_ by the beam. He repeated: just what was that girl?

"Sakura-san is a treasured member of Team Seven, Zabuza-san."

Raising Kubikiribocho, Zabuza blocked the open pair of scissors that would've decapitated him. Instead, he watched as the brat's scissors actually began to _cut through_ the metal that made up Kubikiribocho as if it was some kind of _paper_.

_'Just what are these kids?'_ Zabuza thought as spied the girl—Sakura—tore through the remnants of his earlier clones with her sai. _'They're monsters!'_

There was a loud snap before the brat's scissors fully cut through Kubikiribocho, startling Zabuza back into reality. As the upper portion of his blade fell to the ground, Zabuza used the Shunshin no Jutsu to get away.

"I'm afraid that it won't be that easy to escape." Sakura said from above before she slammed her fist into Zabuza's back, slamming his body into the earth, which then cratered as if a meteor had struck. Then, as he recovered, Sakura landed on the ground while the two other brats emerged from the mist behind her.

"Couldn't you have save some for me?" The blue brat growled. "I wanted to get even with him."

Sakura glanced at the brat, "With your current abilities, you wouldn't have been much help..." She frowned undernath her sleeve. "Without your flames, you are barely capable of being mid-range support, let alone short-range."

The brat's eyes widened before he fell to the ground, arms curling around his legs as he assumed the fetal position. What made it even more pathetic was the anime-like tears that began falling from his eyes.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!" With that roar, Zabuza unleashed a mighty stream of water which then assumed the form of a giant blue dragon with yellow eyes. The brats' eyes widened before Sakura blurred out of sight, leaving the other brats to be dragged away by the technique.

Zabuza then emerged from his crater while his Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu collapsed. A regiment of Mizu Clones were created from the aftermath of the technique, which then used the Suirō no Jutsu to imprison the two brats that had been caught in it.

Sakura sighed as she came into view again, actually _standing_ in mid-air as if it was the ground. "I guess I should've expected you to have taken advantage of our arguement and capture the monkeys..." She then pulled out her sai again before her eyes narrowed. "Shimekorose, Anakonda (Strange to Death, Anaconda)."

Seconds later, a pink glow enveloped Sakura completely. The sheer pressure that Zabuza felt from her led him to falling to his knees with gritted teeth.

When this glow dissipated, the pressure lifted a bit, allowing Zabuza to look upwards. Sakura now looked like a naga; her torso having a long slender anaconda's tail from the stomach down. She had gained three more pink dots under her left eye, and her black furry necklace had become thicker and more feather like. Her hair clip-like things had extended around the back of her head and grownarmor plating, now similar to a cobra's head.

"Just... Just what _are_ you!"

Sakura tilted her head, "I am your executioner."

With that, Sakura lunged towards him while white snakes poked their heads out of her sleeves. As she descended, Zabuza absently noticed the three pink marks trailing down the side of the snakes' faces, just like Sakura's own dots.

* * *

Techniques:

1. Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hiding in Mist Technique): A displacement technique that is a speciality of Kirigakure no Sato. When the user is around a body of water, they can use it to create a thick white mist that is hard to see through.

2. Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique): This technique shapes a large amount of water into a giant, powerful dragon, which hits the opponent with formidable might, dealing physical damage. The ideal place to use it is near a body of water, but if the user's skill allows it, it is possible to use it even in a place where there is none. The amount of water used will be in proportion with the user's skill.

3. Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu (Water Clone Technique): The Water Clone Technique is similar to the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) except it creates clones out of water that have one-tenth of the original person's power.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **Well... I couldn't get my mind off of doing a 'sequel' to my earlier one-shot about an Overpowered Team Seven... I hope you guys like it.

And what do you guys think; will Zabuza survive or will he die? Will Kakashi ever get rid of his unwanted Genin? Will the Sandaime Hokage ever believe Kakashi on the matter of his team?


	3. What if Ash had woken up on time?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

What if Ash had woken up on time?

* * *

**Pallet Town—Ketchum Home—Ash's Room.**

**May 22, 2000. 7:30 am.**

* * *

One Ash Ketchum could currently be found inside his room, rushing around as he tried to make sure he had everything. He should have had his stuff packed a few days ago but he had forgotten, leading him to his current predicament.

So, as Ash shoved everything into his backpack, Ash checked his 'mental checklist' off one-by-one:

Five spare outfits. _Check_.

Three winter outfits. _Check._

Sleeping bag and pillow. _Check._

Two week's supply of food. _Check._

One medium-sized bag of PokéChow. _Check._

And from his Dad:

Five standard Poké Balls. _Check._

Three Fast Balls. _Check._

Two Heavy Balls. _Check_.

In the beginning, Ash had been mildly upset that his dad wouldn't be able to come and see him off on his own Pokémon journey, but he had eventually accepted it. His dad was away on work in the Unova region, researching something for a 'Professor Juniper' and wouldn't be able to get back home on time. That didn't mean, however that his dad didn't call the night before and wish him good luck before telling him to call him when he reached Viridian City.

After he had promised that he would, his dad had told his mom to give him his birthday present early. He had been surprised to see the Poké Balls—wondering about the odd orange and blue-colored ones—until his dad had told him about them.

Fast Balls were a type of Poké Ball that had been made to capture quick-footed Pokémon with 'excellent results'. The Heavy Balls worked on heavy Pokémon that ordinary Poké Balls had problems capturing, with the heavier the Pokémon, the more likely the Heavy Ball would catch it.

Both types of Poké Balls weren't usually seen in the Kanto region, having been a recent development by some guy named Kurt, from Johto. His dad had worked for somebody that Kurt had commissioned some unique Poké Balls for, and had been given some as a bonus for his hard work. For his dad to have given him some of his hard-earned bonus was really nice.

_'Is that everything?' _Ash thought as he placed his last Heavy Ball on top of his folded clothing before looking at his filled backpack. He looked at it with furrowed eyebrows, trying to think if he had forgotten anything. '..._No, I think that's it__... But, even if it's not... I can always come back after I get my Starter from Professor Oak, right?'_

"Ash! If you don't get going, then you're going to be late!"

Ash startled briefly at his mother's voice before his eyes widened. He quickly secured the top of his backpack and grabbed it before he rushed out of his room and down the stairs. Seeing his mom there, he gave her a quick hug and thanked her before he rushed out of the house.

Today was the day that he finally old enough to begin his very own Pokémon Journey and receive his first, Starter, Pokémon. He couldn't be late or else he might not receive a Pokémon and have to wait until Professor Oak had another Starter Pokémon to give out. There was no way he was going to let _that_ happen.

* * *

**Pallet Town—Professor Oak's Laboratory.**

**May 22, 2000. 8:30 am.**

* * *

"As you got here first, Ash, I'm going to allow you to select your Starter Pokémon," Professor Oak stated.

Professor Oak was a 50 year-old man messy grayish-brown hair and black eyes. He was wearing a collared red t-shirt that was tucked into a pair of tan-colored pants and a brown belt. He was also wearing a pair of brown shoes and, over his shirt, an knee-length white lab-coat.

Ash quickly got up from his seat and grinned at the two other future Pokémon Trainers in the 'Waiting Room'; Willow Black and Harry Cinn. Willow gave him a small nod while Harry winked at him and gave him a thumbs up. He grinned in return before he followed Professor Oak up the stairs and into the main part of his Laboratory.

The lab possessed several machines that were used for Pokémon testing and a table with various chemicals on it. Nearby is a blue chair with a status screen in front of it, which showed the health and power of a Pokémon, and Professor Oak's computer, which he used to record his research.

Beside the computer was the Poké Ball Transfer machine, for the transportation of Pokémon to their Trainers in a Pokémon Center. The room also had a bookshelf, a desk with a lamp, a brown couch, and a drawing board. Hanging from the ceiling was a large lamp.

And, right smack dab in the middle of the lab was a layered, circular metal table that currently held three Poké Balls. Each of these Poké Balls had a different sticker on them, which proclaimed the type of the Pokémon that was inside of it.

Professor Oak motioned towards the table, "On the table you will find the three Starter Pokémon: Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur. You may only take one, though you may release them from their Poké Balls to see which one you want."

Ash nodded at the information before he approached the table. Last night, he had a few dreams about what it would be like to be the Trainer of each different Starter. While he knew those dreams weren't true, they had cemented the idea of which Pokémon he would choose.

His hand clamped around the Poké Ball with a teardrop-sticker on it before he removed it from its slot on the table. With a grin, he threw he Poké Ball up into the air and released his future partner with a, "I choose you—Squirtle!"

Squirtle materialized on the floor three feet away from Ash. It resembled a light-blue turtle with magenta-colored eyes. The top of the shell was brown while the bottom of the shell was yellow, with a curly white 'rim' separating the two halves. To finish the look of, Squirtle possessed a small tail that looked like a squirrel's tail.

"Squir?" Squirtle asked with a cute tilt of its head, looking around. When it spotted Ash, it startled slightly. "Squirtle Tle?"

Ash lowered himself to his knees and smiled at Squirtle, "Hi there. My name is Ash Ketchum and I'm going to be you're Trainer."

Squirtle put a hand on its chest as if to ask 'Who, me?' before it looked over at Professor Oak. When he nodded at it, Squirtle looked back at Ash and repeated its earlier gesture. Ash nodded before Squirtle rushed over to him and enveloped his right knee in a hug.

Laughing, Ash leaned over and pulled Squirtle into a hug with his arms. He felt like his heart would burst from his happiness over getting a Pokémon and laughing at how silly his Squirtle seemed to be. Was this how his parents felt when they received their first Pokémon?

* * *

Ash's Pokémon Team:

Squirtle (Female):

Attacks: Tackle (Normal)., Tail Whip (Normal).

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **This is a short one-shot based on my "What if Ash had woken up on time" Pokémon Challenge. In case you haven't seen it, I'll post it below.

"What if Ash hadn't broken his alarm clock and was actually able to get to Professor Oak's Lab in time? Alongside his Squirtle, Bulbasaur, or Charmander, he will begin his very own Pokémon journey. The only requirement is to make Ash more knowledgeable about Pokémon and Pokémon Battles. I mean, he wanted to become Pokémon Master, so shouldn't he have KNOWN the stuff Misty and Brock told him?"

As you can see, I added a bit more by giving Ash a couple of regular and unique Poké Balls as a gift from his dad. You don't have to use that bit if you don't want to. You can also change up the bit where Ash chooses which Pokémon and then interacts with it.

Also, if someone wats to take this challenge, they should know more about the three Starter Pokémon:

Squirtle has a Modest Nature and loves dry-tasting food but she hates spicy food. After doing something that someone (Ash) would consider amazing or noteworthy, she'll get embarrassed about it and wave it off like it wasn't any big accomplishment.

Bulbasaur has a Relaxed Nature and loves sour-tasting food but he hates sweet food. Bulbasaur will be pretty relaxed and won't get as worked up as some other Pokémon as to what is going on. This can prove to be a benefit, however, as it allows him to conserve energy for later.

Charmander has a Jolly Nature and loves sweet-tasting food but he hates dry food. Charmander will be a bundle of joy and listen to every command that it's Trainer (Ash) will give him, though he sometimes go overboard.


	4. Spongebob opens his own restaurant:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

* * *

Chapter One:

* * *

I know this is a good idea! I'll show you! I'll... I'll... I'll open my own restaurant! You'll see!  
-Spongebob Squarepants.

* * *

(Bikini Bottom—Hermit Lane)

At the moment, one could currently find Spongebob Squarepants standing outside of his restaurant—_Pretty Patties—_with an enormous grin on his face. It may have taken him a year to find a building, rent it, acquire the permits he needed, get approved by the Health Inspector, purchase the furniture for his restaurant, and hire a staff, but he had done it.

"Mr. Squarepants?"

Hearing his name, Spongebob turned around to see Sallie Johnson—one of his four cashiers—near the now-opened door of his restaurant. She was looking at him with a confused look on her face, which caused him to blink. "Yes?"

"We could use you in the kitchen, Mr. Squarepants." Sallie informed him with an excited grin. "We're about to open, sir."

Spongebob's grin grew even wider at this before he nodded and followed Sallie into _his restaurant_. Once there, he looked around at the room, noting how different it was from the blank and empty building he had seen nine months ago.

The main room now had small, light-blue tiles as flooring, a white ceiling, and white walls that werre decorated with painted flowers on it. Furthermore, this room was divided into two main sections; the service area and the dining room.

The service area conisted of a 10' by 10' area with one side ending at the doorway while the other ended at a counter that possessed a soda machine, straws and cups, condiments, and napkins. On the right side of the service area was the service counter that was equipped with a row of three cash registers, and a stack of trays. Behind the service counter, one could see into the kitchen, where a couple of people flitted about, preparing for when _Pretty Patties_ would finally open.

The dining room was a 100' by 100' room that was on the left side of the service area. This area possesed a numerous array of tables and boothes, alongside a number of trash cans and recycling bins near the exit. Orginally, the seating of the chairs he had bought hadn't been too comfortable, so Spongebob had paid $400 to get them padded. It wasn't really "nessescary" but he wanted his future customers to have something comfy to sit on when they ate.

Spongebob then turned right and continued down a small hallway that would lead to the boy's and girl's bathrooms and the entrance to his kitchen. Walking inside the kitchen, both he and Sallie were hit by the smells of the food that the lower-ranked cooks were preparing. Mmm, it smelled good.

After a brief moment, both people continued onwards into the kitchen, making sure not to bump into or run into anyone. They stopped in the back, where Larry Waltz—one of Spongebob's cooks—was finishing the last bowl of the namesake of the restaurant by putting blue food coloring into it. So, he was finishing the blue patty mix?

When Spongebob had left the _Krusty Krab _one year ago, it had been becuase of this. Despite the tastiness of the Krabby Patty, no one was coming in and Mr. Krabs was losing a lot of money, so he had asked his employees if they had an idea to solve this. He had suggested they start selling Pretty Patties—burgers that had been colored with food coloring so that everything in the burger was one color—that he had developed the recipe for.

However, instead of trying his idea, Mr. Krabs and the other employees had laughed and mocked his idea. Hurt, he had quit the _Krusty Krab_ and vowed to open his own restaurant and prove that his Pretty Patties were a good idea. So, one year later, he had done it. Well, he hadn't completed his vow just yet, though he would. Today would be the day he opened his restaurant.

"Larry, I thought I told you that I would take care of the food coloring." Spongebob complained.

Startled, Larry looked up to his boss with a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry, boss... I just thought that I could... help... out..." He looked away. "I mean, you've been busying making sure that everything is in order and..."

"I always have time to prep my kitchen and cook, Larry." Spongebob stated before he pulled off an apron from a nearby rack and put it on, rolling up his sleeves as he did so. "But thanks for helping out... How much colored mixes have you done?"

What people didn't know was that, besides the coloring of the Pretty Patties, each differently colored burger had a slightly different flavor. The Yellow burger tasted a little like lemons, the Pink burger tasted like strawberries, the Blue burger tasted like bluberries, the Red burger tasted like apples, the Green burger tasted like zucinni, the Orange burger tasted like oranges, and the Purple burger tasted like Eggplant. And all of these flavors came naturally; he didn't mix any of the stuff that his burgers tasted like into his mixes.

"Well, I've done the blue mix, the pink mix, the orange mix, and the purple mixes, boss." Larry answered.

Spongebob grinned, "So there are six more colors to do." He grinned. "Excellent." He moved to grab two nearby bowls—marked "orange" and "green"—before he set them down on the metal table and grabbed two bottles of food coloring. "Well, aren't you going to help, Larry?"

"Of course, boss!"

XXXXXXX

Later that same day, Spongebob could be found turning off the lights to _Pretty Patties_ before he walked out of the restaurant and locked the doors. Today had been a good day; there were a lot of customers and the customers seemed very satisified with their meals when they left.

Ordinarily, Spongebob knew that _Pretty Patties _wouldn't have recieved as much customers as it did, but he had been advised to start advertising as soon as the Health Inspector cleared him. And he had; he got an ad in the newspaper, set up a website based on his restaurant, and went around town with some samples of his food. So, when _Pretty Patties_ opened today, word had already spread around about his food and how good it tasted.

While there were some bumps in the kitchen, it was to be expected, as it was the first day that everyone had worked together for such a crowd. He remembered his own mistakes when he had gotten a job as a Fry Cook at the _Krusty Krab_ and how he had gradually found his own rhythm with the other members of the kitchen. Just like him, the _Pretty Patties _team would find their own rhythm and become a well-oiled machine.

* * *

_Pretty Patties:_

* * *

Main dishes:

1. Pretty Patty—$4.00 (Burger Only), $5.25 (Meal).

2. Double Patty—$5.00 (Burger Only), $6.50 (Meal).

3. Triple Patty—$5.75 (Burger Only), $7.25 (Meal).

4. Chicken Patty—$4.00 (Burger Only), $5.25 (Meal).

5. Veggie Patty—$4.50.

6. Kid's Meal—$2.00.

Sides:

Coral Bits—$1.00 (Small), $1.25 (Medium), $2.00 (Large)

2. Chili Oyster Skins—$1.50 (Small), $2.00 (Medium), $2.50 (Large)

3. Kelp Fries—$0.25 (Small), $0.50 (Medium), $0.75 (Large).

4. Barnacle Rings—$2.00 (Small), $2.50 (Medium), $3.25 (Large).

Drinks:

1. Fountain Drinks—Dr. Sea, Manta (Orange), Cola, Sienna Mist, Red Tide, Diet Red Tide, Lemonade (Yellow and Pink), and Water. $1.00 (Small), $1.50 (Medium), $1.75 (Large).

2. Patty Shake—$2.50 (Small), $3.00 (Medium), $3.50 (Large).

3. Tea/Coffee—$2.00.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** This is just a one-shot I made about Spongebob opening his own restaurant. In the show, he set up a stand, but here he stuck to his promise. He isn't in the clear financially, as he took a few loans out of the bank, but... as time progresses, he'll pay off his loans and _really_ start to make some money.

Also, I found it odd how Spongebob ran his stand for who-know's how long before Mr. Krabs took over his stand... and his customers were fine; they even came back for more Pretty Patties. So, I am guessing that Mr. Krabs did something like paint the patties to give them their color, instead of using food coloring.


	5. Coral:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Coral:

* * *

**Albasta—Sandora Desert**

* * *

Crocodile lashed out with his right hand as it transformed into a loose blade of sand, furious. "Desert Spāda (Treasured Sword of the Desert)!" He spat as he stabbed his sand-sword into the ground at his feet and then watched as it launched towards his enemy like a torpedo.

Said enemy was a fourteen year-old, black hair, and black eyed male. The boy was wearing a short-sleeved white shirt with a green jacket, dark-green shorts, dark-green sandals, and a straw hat with a green ribbon on his head. He was "Sangomēkā" Monkey D. Luffy, captain of recently-created pirate crew, and a major thorn in Baroque Works' side.

"Sango no kabe (Wall of Coral)!" Luffy lashed out with his own hand, causing the sand ten feet away from him to erupt into a dense wall of colorful coral. Crocodile's attack met the defence only a couple seconds later, sending chunks of the coral flyin as the blade tore into the wall, but Luffy merely created more coral on his side. "Nice trick."

Instead of answering, Crocodile simply rose from the ground behind Luffy and attempted to behead him with his golden hook. Eyes wide, Luffy ducked and jumped backwards to get some distance. Crocodile, however, unleashed another Desert Spāda and sunk back into the sand.

_'He's better than I thought...'_ Luffy thought as he jumped over the incoming blade and created coral to cover his arms. Then, landing on his hands, Luffy pushed himself even higher. Turning in mid-air, he posistioned himself to land on top of his coral wall.

"Nice strategy... seperating yourself from the desert floor so I can't sneak up on you... but it isn't good enough."

Luffy didn't have time to question where Crocodile's voice came from as, in the next second, an enormous pit of quicksand formed underneath his wall. As his wall began to sink, Luffy barely noticed as Crocodile materialized in the sandy air behind him. It was a miracle that he did and it gave him a few seconds to swing his left arm to block Crocodile's hook. The sheer force behind the attack, however, caused Luffy's arm to buckle downwards and him to grimace.

How strong was Crocodile?

"I must admit that I'm a bit disapointed now, Sangomēkā." Crocodile said as he slowly overpowered Luffy. "When I heard of your deeds, I had thought you would be stronger than this..." He shook his head, "I must have overestimated my agents' skills..."

No, Crocodile hadn't. Those guys were tough to beat, but they were some of the toughest opponents he had fought so far. But now wasn't the time to tell Crocodile that. The jerk had left himself open; he obviously didn't know why stalemating like this was a bad idea for him.

Luffy lashed out with his right arm and, to Crocodile's surprise, managed to hit the man in the face. "Sangoshō (Coral Palm)!" Coral began to spread across Crocodile's face at a rapid speed as he was knocked backwards, clawing at his face with his hand. "Serves you right, you jerk!"

It was then, however, when Luffy noticed that only his wall was only two feet above the bottom of the quicksand pit Crocodile had created. Frowning, Luffy jumped into the air and vaulted over the top of the pit. He fell to the ground outside of it, sweating, while wondering how long that trick would stall Crocodile. He wasn't naive enough to believe that it would hold the jerk for long, though he could always hope that it would.

A large, human-shaped mount of dried-out coral was thrown out of the pit only five seconds later. This was followed, in turn, by Crocodile rising out of the pit like an unwanted nightmare. "Did you think that would—"

"Sango no shādo danmaku (Coral Shard Barrage)." Luffy interuptted the man by pointing his coral-covered arms at Crocodile and launching small, shard-like pieces of coral at the man. The shards harmlessly flew through Crocodile's body, but Luffy wasn't finished just yet. "Sango no kakudai (Coral Enlargement)!"

The miniscule shards heading towards Crocodile, and passing through the man, suddenly began to grow. Crocodile didn't have any time to react before his body was blown into millions of sand particles as the coral "inside" his body exploded in height. Unfortunatley, for Luffy, Crocodile materialized a few spaces away, looking unhurt but now annoyed.

"That was a nice combination you have there—" Crocodile began.

Luffy slammed his uncovered hands into the sand, "Sango no jaberin bochi (Coral Javelin Graveyard)!"

Hundreds of thin, javelin-like pieces of coral speared out of the ground underneath Crocodile's feet in an attempt to kill the man. Instead of doing so, however, they merely passed through Crocodile's body as Luffy's coral shards had.

But Luffy, sweating and panting, had just jumped towards Crocodile. He remembered the brief lessons on Haki that his brother had taught him; Haki nullifyes Akuma no Mi. While it would knock him unconsious in the state he was in, especially with his poor level of control over his Haki, he just needed to hit Crocodile once.

_"This is for hurting my Nakama and everyone else you stepped on, Crocodile!"_

This was shouted by Luffy as he delievered a clean right hook to Crocodile's face as he flew by. A moment later, he fell unconscious, not seeing how Crocodile's eyes widened before Luffy's Haki hit him. He felt the coral javelins dig into his skin for a second before he knew no more.

* * *

It was only a week later when the news about Crocodile's death became known to the world. There were speculations as to how he died, but the evidence—the pieces of coral found his body—pointed an accusatory finger at one person: Sangomēkā" Monkey D. Luffy.

That the same person was also involved in the destruction of Baroque Works, the ending of the civil war in the Alabasta Kingdom, and the restoration of Princess Vivi only made people question Luffy more.

Where had he come from? What Akuma no Mi had he eaten? How did he manage to get the current members on his crew? How did he get involved with the Alabasta Kingdom? How had he managed to defeat Crocodile? Was he _really_ that strong...?

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Desert Spāda (Treasured Sword of the Desert): After transforming his right arm into a loose blade of sand, Crocodile slams it into the ground. It will then extend in straight line, moving at speeds comparable to that of a torpedo.

2. Sango no kabe (Wall of Coral): Lashing out with his right hand towards an intended target, Luffy is capable of causing a wall of coral to bloom into existence there. While it is a good defence in itself, Luffy is capable of making it better by continously adding coral to the back or front, making it as if the wall never recieved any damage at all.

3. Sangoshō (Coral Palm): By hitting someone or something with one of his fists, Luffy is capable of causing coral to start growing from the point of impact. The coral will quickly cover the target's body and restrain them. In the case of weapons, the coral generally makes them heavier and much harder to wield.

4. Sango no shādo danmaku (Coral Shard Barrage): With this technique, Luffy is capable of firng off shards of coral from any piece of existing coral near himself. This attack continously peppers the enemy, and has been proven useful when dealing with dealing with an incoming "storm" of people.

5. Sango no kakudai (Coral Enlargement): With this technique, Luffy can enlarge any piece of coral within his vision. When combined with the Sango no shādo danmaku, it is deadly, as the technique forces the coral shards to grow rapidly.

6. Sango no jaberin bochi (Coral Javelin Graveyard): By slamming his palms onto the ground, Luffy is capable of creating a small forest of sharp coral spears that emerge from underneath an enemy.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **This chapter is based on one of my One Piece/Naruto challenges, where Luffy eats a different Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit) that gives him the powers of one of the nine Jinchūriki/Bijū's special abilites. Some examples of it are sand manipulation, blue fire manipulation, lava manipulation, steam manipulation, emotion sensing, ink manipulation, acid manipulation,and, of course, coral manipulation.

Parially based off of Sharkteeth's "Ten Tailed Straw Hat" Challenge and fic, of which the fic can be viewed here: s/7329803/1/Ten_Tailed_Strawhat. It's a great series of one through three-shots, so check it out!

If any of you guys want to take a crack at this challenge, then PM me. I won't be able to co-author or beta the resulting story, but I will be able to provide you guys with some ideas to help you get going. Examples: Giving ideas for techniques, giving ideas for crew members and how Luffy would've gotten them, etc.

**PS: **Luffy won because Crocodile began to underestimate him. He thought himself untouchable because of his Akuma no Mi (the Suna Suna no Mi) and _allowed_ Luffy to continue to attack him. He _wanted_ Luffy to try everything and then rub it in his face when he failed, though, he _certainly_ didn't expect that last punch!

If Crocodile had been serious and attempted to kill Luffy instead of this, _Luffy_ would be dead. No questions about it.


	6. Gas:

Disclaimer:

* * *

Gas:

* * *

Chakra is the energy that is formed from the mixing of the body's physical energies and the mind's spiritual energies. Once moulded, chakra can be channelled through the Chakra Circulatory System to any of the 361 "Chakra Points" in the body. From there, the chakra user can shape and manipulate their chakra (usually through the use of hand-seals) to produce a variety of effects.

It was because of chakra that impossible feats such as walking on water, breathing fire, creating illusions, and enhancing one's strength to superhuman levels. And, by moulding chakra into different ratios, new types of chakra could be formed.

It was through this experimentation of ratios that five types of chakra were discovered and documented. These five were known as Hi, Kaze, Kaminari, Mizu, and Tsuchi which eventually led to the birth of Katon, Fūton, Raiton, Suiton, and Doton Ninjutsu. These branches of Ninjutsu could be used by anyone, unlike natures created by one's Kekkai Genkai, with varying effects.

However, because of the popularity and availability of these branches, it led less and less people to try experimenting with chakra ratios to produce new natures. In fact, in era of the Hidden Villages, only the more creative Jōnin and Kage still experimented. Such examples were of Jī's, the Sandaime Raikage's, Kuro Lightning techniques or Yagura's, the Yondaime Mizukage's, Coral techniques.

That all changed, however, the day that Uzumaki Naruto got his hands on a paper that tested one's chakra affinity.

* * *

**Hi no Kuni—Konohagakure no Sato—Akademī**

* * *

"Can I ask you a question, Iruka-sensei?"

Umino Iruka looked downwards to see one of his more troublemaking students, Uzumaki Naruto, staring up at him with a hopeful expression on his face. Honestly, Iruka was a bit surprised that Naruto had stayed in, as it was time for lunch, and this was usually when Naruto escaped from the Akademī to go pull pranks. If Naruto had a question, though, it would explain why he had been on his best behavior today. "Of course you can, Naruto."

Naruto smiled a little before he turned away and reached into the pocket of his dark shorts, "I found this paper a few days ago..." He said as he removed his hand from his pocket, showing his sensei two half-ripped pieces of paper. "And since I didn't have any leaves for the Leaf Concentration excercise you told us to do..."

Iruka was noticeably shocked at this revelation. Normally Naruto would slack off in class, having claimed it was "too boring" for him, and he thought Naruto was asleep when he had told the class to practice the excercise. It seemed as the boy wasn't, if he had heard him and done the excercise. That, however, was not what shocked Iruka the most: it was the ripped paper that Naruto was presenting to him.

Like most other shinobi, he knew that their was a special kind of paper that, when you poured your chakra through it, allowed you to see which affinity your chakra had. It was common practice for most Chῡnin and above to learn nd then master their chakra affinity's element. Iruka himself had a affinity for mizu chakra and Suiton Ninjutsu, which was ironic, considering his name.

But, how had Naruto gotten his hands on that paper? It wasn't sold at most stores and, when it was, it was quite expensive, given that one had to nurture a tree with chakra for _years_ in order to produce the paper. Though there had been a dip in the price recently, as well as some rumors as to the reason why, it didn't make sense for Naruto to have enough money to purchase the paper. He probably would exclaim at the price if he found a store that sold it and storm off to find "decently priced" regular paper.

"Sensei?"

Iruka shook his head to clear his mind of his previous thoughts and looked back at Naruto. "Well, Naruto, you have nothing to worry about. You probably didn't do the excercise wrong... the paper caused the rip." He paused, seeing Naruto's confusion, and decided to explain. "You see that paper is special, as it has been grown from a tree fed with chakra instead of water. Paper made from those kinds of trees, like the one you have in your hand, is sensitive to chakra."

"What does this paper do, sensei?" Naruto asked with a growing interest. This type of paper that Iruka-sensei was talking about sounded really cool and that was without even knowing what it did yet.

"When you used the Leaf Concentration excercise, you accidentally channeled some of your chakra into it. The paper, sensitive to chakra as it is, "ate" your chakra and then reacted to the type of chakra you have. While your paper ripped, it is also possible for the paper to smolder, crinkle, harden, or get slightly moist depending on the type of chakra put into it." Iruka explained.

Naruto tilted his head, "How does knowing the type of your chakra help you?"

Iruka wondered when Naruto's question had turned into him giving the boy a small lecture based on things that no Akademī Student or Genin were aware of. Maybe it was the earnest interest in the subject that Naruto seemed to have? That could be it. He must be telling Naruto so much because this was the first thing, besides the physical arts, that Naruto seemed interested in.

"Well, knowing the type of chakra you have allows you to know which branch of Elemental Ninjutsu you can do best. As I have a mizu nature, I can do Suiton Ninjutsu with less chakra and less effort than others can." Iruka admitted. Then, seeing the look on Naruto's face, he hastily added, "It doesn't mean that I don't have to train in order to use Suiton techniques, but... they're easier for me to use.

"Okay..." Nartuo said, obviously not believing him, before asking. "So what affinity do I have, Iruka-sensei?"

Before Iruka could answer, however, the lunch bell rang. Iruka startled a bit and then looked to Naruto as his other students began to approach, "I'll tell you what your affinity is if you pay attention in class and take notes for friday's test on the Henge no Jutsu."

"But sensei..." Naruto pleaded.

"I shouldn't have told you as much as I have already, Naruto." Iruka interrupted. "So, unless you want to go ask somebody that probably won't tell you, I expect you to do as I said." Then, seeing the blooming resistance in the blonde's eyes, he said, "Besides, if you do this you can prove to _Sasuke_ how good of a student you are... and when you pass the test, _you'll_ know something he _doesn't_..."

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato—Library**

* * *

At the moment, one could find Naruto sitting in the library with a suprising number of books and scrolls scattered over "his" table. It was even more surprising that he was even in the library at all since he hadn't even known that it had _existed_ until a week ago. If he had known, he probably wouldn't have gone either, but he had a "mission".

He had to find out more about the kaze nature of chakra and Fūton Ninjutsu. He had thought that Iruka-sensei would've told him about it, since he was now paying attention every day, despite how boring he found it, but Iruka-sensei hadn't. He had said that i was "too advanced" for him.

Yeah, right.

Sasuke-teme already knew about his chakra's hi nature and his family had begun to teach him some Katon Ninjutsu. That had allowed Sasuke-teme to lord it over him when he had told the teme that he knew his chakra affinity. And he wasn't going to allow Sasuke-teme to get ahead of him!

So, here he was, trying to look up information that would help him beat Sasuke-teme. It had been frustrating since the librarian had told him that they didn't have any jutsu scrolls; they had really basic information on chakra, mentions of some techniques he was learning at the Akademī, and loads of ordinary stuff. The librarian, though, had suggested that "if [he] was looking for information on wind" that he look through their books relating to wind.

Boy, there were a lot of books like that.

Naruto had learned a lot since he had started to follow the librarian's advice. He had learned that wind was simply moving air. He had also learned that the air wasn't composed of a single thing, as he had thought, but with different percentages of multiple gases. Globally, "The Atmosphere for Dummies" had said, the air was composed of 78% Nitrogen gas, 29% Oxygen, 0.9% Argon, 0.03 Carbon Dioxide, and a bunch of other gases.

After looking up these gases, since he had no idea what they were or how they were supposed to matter, left Naruto a new appreciation for them. Gases just had so _many_ uses! It could be used in food and chemical processing, medicine, making weapons (if converted back to a solid), making explosives, and etc. It was just shocking how much gases could _do_.

It also made Naruto question how useful gases could be in jutsu.

If someone could control gas, then they would be able to take away all of the oxygen away from a certain area to take enemies down. They could also spread a flammable gas around a battlefield, light a spark, and boom! Or use an un-smellable gas to knock somebody out. Or use it as a smokescreen. Or—The possibilities were endless.

Those possibilities had led Naruto to asking Iruka-sensei or Hokage-jiji, when he had the time, for tips on how to manipulate gas. Iruka-sensei had told him that it was "impossible" while Hokage-jiji had told him to focus more on his studies. And anyone else he asked would ask why someone so young wanted help with chakra control or just brush him off. It made him so mad when he heard some of them mock him for his ideas or tell him that it was impossible.

Naruto couldn't simply accept someone telling him something was impossible. He _would_ find a way to manipulate gas in order to prove all of those guys wrong and that he could do it. He was _Uzumaki Naruto_, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato! And _nobody_ should ever underestimate him!

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato—Training Grounds #12**

* * *

Naruto inhaled. When he exhaled, the chakra in his lungs, which he had moulded into the "kitai type", came as well. The result was the expelling of a small amount of blue-tinged gas that he could actually _see_. "It... it actually _worked_?"

Over the past year, he had been been playing with his chakra in his attempt to find a way to manipulate gas. His attempts had landed him in the hospital quite a few times after they exploded in his face or drained a majority of his chakra. Still, he had refused to give up, and had recently discovered the "kitai type" after almost setting his body on fire.

Today, however, was the first attempt at using that gas type while using some of the chakra-moulding tips he had begged off from Hokage-jiji. And, while it had't created that much gas, his technique had actually _worked_. He had doubts about it actually working but _he had created gas with chakra!_

"I did it! I did... it!" Naruto faltered as a sudden wave of _exhaustion_ hit him before he collapsed to the ground. A second later, an ANBU hoisted Naruto's unconscious form over his shoulder and vanished. Naruto had exhausted his chakra, again, so that meant another unwanted (to the boy) trip to the hospital.

The ANBU was a bit proud, though, as it seemed that Naruto had finally had some sucess. The amount of gas the boy had created wasn't something to brag about. The fact that Naruto had managed to create gas, however, _was_ worth bragging about. Who else could say that they had created an element previously thought impossible to create with chakra? No one.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **This chapter is ideally a sort-of prologue that would into a story about a gas-manipulating Naruto who had bribed with learning something he wanted in exchange for behaving, paying attention, and doing well in class. By no means would Naruto be the star pupil, but his natural rivalry with Sasuke would make him want to beat him, which would allow Naruto to slowly climb the ranks... until he began trying to create the kitai nature. Then his grades would begin to slip backwards as he spent more time thinking of ways to making it.

At the end of the Akademī, Naruto would have created a few E-ranked and D-ranked Kiton Ninjutsu, have more knowledge (but still need things explained to him sometimes), and a developing Nintaijutsu style revolving around his Kiton Ninjutsu. By the time Naruto's team entered the Chῡnin Exams, he would have managed to create a few C-rank and a B/A-Rank Kiton Ninjutsu and start getting a reputation of the "Kiton no Naruto" or Naruto of the Gas Release.


	7. Gas II: Fuki

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

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Gas II: Fuki

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Right now, one would find Fuki Yumi sitting in the middle of the bed in her room, staring at her black comforter. She could be doing something else, like reading through the material from her sensei that Otōsan had given her. She could be drawing, or reading, or play in the backyard. Fuki, though, didn't feel like doing anything.

Two months ago, she had been playing in the park before _that man_ had tricked her into going with him. She should have remembered that her Otōsan had told her to not talk to strangers and never to go with them. But she didn't. She had thought the man wasn't a stranger because he was a Konoha shinobi, like her Otōsan, and shinobi protected all of the people in the village.

She was wrong. So horribly wrong.

_That man_ had taken her to a place underground and then knocked her out. When she had woke up, she was being unstrapped from a cold, silver table. She hadn't screamed when she saw what _that man_ had done to her, finding the changes pretty, and she had always loved birds. That was until _that_ _man_ had said that he needed "data" and then she screamed. She screamed for her Otōsan to help because _it hurt so much, why was that man hurting her, shinobi were supposed to protect, where was her Otōsan?!_

Fuki shoved those horrible memories away, into the deepest pit of her mind, locked it, and through away the key. She had been saved from that place when Hokage-sama and the ANBU had stormed it and chased _that man_ away from the village. She had been so scared then, afraid that they would hurt her, only for Hokage-sama to kneel on the ground, offer his hand, and asked if she would like to go to her Otōsan.

There was a faint knock from her opened door—she couldn't stand closed doors after _that man's_ horrible rooms—and Fuki turned her tear-stained face to see her Otōsan standing in the doorway. Her Otōsan was a strong, red-haired man with dark-blue eyes and a small goatee, dressed in a red kimono as his shinobi uniform still freaked her out.

"Are you aright, Fuki?" Her Otōsan asked gently. He approached her as she shook her head and sniffled, the bed creaking under his weight as he sat down on it. "Oh, Fuki-musume..." He whispered as he pulled her into a warm hug "I'm _so_ sorry..."

Tearing up a little, Fuki shook her head. "It wasn't your fault Otōsan..." It was her fault for leaving the park and going with _that man._ "I left the park with a stranger, Otōsan. What happened was my fault.. I should've listened to you."

"No. It wasn't your fault, musume." Her Otōsan replied, firmly. "It was _his_ fault for tricking you and taking you away from me. It was _him_ that did this to you. But _he's_ gone now and Hokage-sama has sent out his best ANBU after him."

"I know that, Otōsan... but it... when I look in the mirror... and _see_ what... what _he_ did, it's like _he's_ there." Fuki admitted as tears began to run down her cheeks. "It's like he's _watching_ me... _laughing_ at me... like... like he used to before Hokage-sama came and—"

"Shh... It's okay, musume, he's gone..." Her Otōsan wiped away her tears. "I'm here now and he's gone. He can't hurt you anymore. If he ever came back, the shinobi will punish him severely for what he did to you and the others..."

Of course he didn't mention that the punishment was _death_ but, even after what he did to her, his musume didn't want her to die. She just wanted him to go away and stay away from her. He hoped _that man_ would come back so he could personally kill him for what _that man_ had done to his musume but knew _that man_ was _much_ more powerful than him. Still, though...

"Come now, musume." He said as he picked up his musume before she could protest. She put her head against his chest as he walked over his musume's drape-covered mirror before she realized what he was doing and began to struggle. "It's okay, musume. I know you're scared but you can't let _him_ win."

"But, Otōsan—" Fuki began.

"—'But' nohing, musume. I will not allow you to feel this way any longer. You are still my musume, regardless of what happened, and I still think you're very beautiful." With his free hand, he removed the cover from the mirror and watched his musume as the red fabric slithered to the floor. "Just look. For me, musume?"

Fuki sniffled for a moment, not really wanting to, but her Otōsan rarely asked anything of her. She glanced up at him for a moment, took a deep breath, and slowly turned to lock gazes with her reflection. She first saw her now shoulder-length red hair, a few strands escaping her ears to fall into her face. So far, so good. She just saw her and felt the warmth of her Otōsan as he held her.

"Go on, musume." Her Otōsan prompted.

Fuki hesitated and then slowly slid her gaze downward. She was wearing a sleeveless black shirt with a pair of blue jeans that cut off before the knees. Before _that man _had kidnapped her, she had liked wearing long-sleeved shirts, but she wasn't able to wear them anymore. Since she had returned, her Otōsan had bought her some new clothes while removing the sleeves of some of her favorite shirts that she couldn't bear to get rid of.

Her Otōsan gave her a small nudge and she took deep breath. She then looked at what separated her from looking like a normal person; the changes _that man_ had made to her. Instead of arms, she had a pair of white feathered wings that faded to pink at the edges and, instead of feet, she had talons. To finish it off, she had a feathered white tail.

"Do you feel him now, musume?"

Fuki leaned back into her Otōsan's chest, "I don't think so, Otōsan. I just feel you holding me..." It seemed as her Otōsan's warmth was keeping _him_ away. "I feel warm and safe, Otōsan. You must be keeping _him_ away."

"No, musume. It is you. You're keeping him away." Her Otōsan corrected, confusing her. "You are not focusing on _that man_ or what _he _did. As long as you don't focus on that, you won't feel _him _at all. If you do, think of something happy or how you feel now and _he _should go away."

"But... How can I do that, Otōsan? I remember what happened every time I move my 'arms' or hit something with my tail or see my 'feet'."

Her Otōsan's embrace tightened as he pulled her closer, "Musume... I know that they are reminders... but you shouldn't keep associating them with _that man_. They might be a little different but they don't make you any less pretty or beautiful than you already are. They just make you more special."

Fuki sniffled a little bit but didn't protest. Both of them knew that i would take more time for her to start believing it and they had nothing but time. Her training at the Akademī—which she had refused to give up, despite the circumstances—was to be "postponed" until she felt could fully control her new limbs and felt comfortable enough to return. She didn't know, though, if she ever _would_ start to or ever feel comfortable.

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato—Yumi Residence—Backyard**

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Four months later found Fuki sitting on a bench in the backyard while her Otōsan was inside, preparing lunch. He said that he was going to make her favorite, tuna onigiri, because she had been able to use the standard Bunshin no Jutsu again. It was a major accomplishment as, when she had begun training to control her new limbs, she hadn't been able to do anything she had learned back at the Akademī.

Once she had learned how to walk again, which was an experience in itself, she had to master her wings. She had slowly figured out that she could use the ends of her wings as large hands and while holding large things like newspapers were easy, holding smaller things was a problem. It was also very difficult for her to form her 'hands' into hand-seals.

In fact, Fuki could only form four of the twelve hand-seals: the Ox, Boar, Dog, and Monkey hand-seals. The other hand-seals were still too difficult for her to make with her 'hands' but her Otōsan said she was getting better at it everyday. She didn't believe tat she was getting better at them, but...

"Aaaauuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Hearing this, Fuki startled before she began to look around herself, body tensing as she did so. What was that? Who was screaming? She followed the source of the scream and tracked it to high in the air above her. Turning her head, she caught the sight of a blonde boy falling towards her before he crashed into her.

"Agghhhh..." Fuki heard the boy mutter from on top of her, "_That_ was too much wind-natured chakra. I'll have to remember that."

Fuki stilled. Hopefully the boy wouldn't realize what had happened and leave before he saw her. Or her Otōsan would come out to investigate the boy's screaming from when he had been falling from the... sky? Had he really fell from the sky? She didn't see any wings on him so, how could he have gotten there if he had?

"What's am I laying on?" The blonde murmured in confusion. Fuki stilled even further and stopped breathing. She clenched her eyes shut as he slowly turned around, felt him start, and then scramble off of her as fast as he could. He _saw_. He was going to start screaming or call her a freak or— "I'm so sorry for crashing into you, Fuki! Please forgive me!"

Wait, _what_?

Fuki slowly opened her eyes as the blonde continued to apologize for "landing on her" and "breaking the bench". She saw that the blonde was her classmate, Naruto Uzumaki, and... he wasn't looking at her as some kind of freak? He recognized her? And... and he was _apologizing_ to her? This didn't make any sense!

"And I promise to buy you a new bench but I didn't know that chakra ratio would've sent me flying like a rocket into the air! And I-I'll buy you something nice, alright? Maybe some—" Naruto babbled.

"Why..." Fuki asked, interrupting him, looking Naruto in the eyes. "... why aren't you afraid?"

"Afrad of what? I don't see anything to be afraid of here." Naruto responded.

At his words, Fuki felt someone pour liquid warmth into her stomach as her heart squeezed. Still, though, it was Naruto. He wad oblivious to most things until they were pointed out to him. So, when she pointed out her abnormalities, he was sure to realize them and react accordingly.

"About my arms or legs..." Fuki said, turning away. She didn't want to see Naruto when his expression changed into that of disgust. A couple of moments passed until she felt someone grab her right 'hand' and opened her eyes in surprse at what she found, "What? Naruto...?"

Naruto was smiling as he held her 'hand, "These wings of yours are super cool, Fuki-chan! And really pretty too!" He didn't seem to notice when her heart stopped and her face froze. "Can you fly with them? It would be really cool if you could, Fuki-chan! Fuki-chan? Are you alright? Fuki-chan?!"

When Fuki's Otōsan came out into the backyard with two plates of food, he found himself surprised. There, talking animately to his daughter and _laughing_ with her, was one of Fuki's classmates. The sight warmed his heart, as it had been a long time since Fuki had been this spirited. And she was waving her 'hands' like she used to when she got excited, not even noticing that her 'hands' were wings.

_'It seemed that all my musume needed was a friend.' _He thought.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** This is a companion chapter to my Kiton!Naruto and, yes, Fuki is a character. She is the red-haired girl that picked on Sakura along with Ami. In this story, however, Orochimaru kidnapped her and experimented on her based on her fascination for birds. It was a sort of "I'm going to turn what you love into your greatest nightmare" sort-of thing...

Naruto, in this, has just begun to experiment with chakra ratios. Fuki has no idea that Naruto had started to get good grades or pay attention in class (due to Iruka's bribing) as she was still learning how to walk and fully control her arms. And the reason that Naruto and Fuki are getting along? He was the first person her age to see her "changes" and not freak out. He accepted her and complimented her, causing her to pass out.

And, when she woke up, Naruto was by her side.

So... tell me what you guys thought about it! Comments, concerns, constructive critiscm? Demands for faster updates on PEC or AIA (which we try to do our best to write quickly)? Comments about the semi-planned, future fics on my profile?


	8. Gas III: Sasuke

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

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Gas III: Sasuke:

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The week Fuki had returned to the Akademī was very troublesome. The very sight of Fuki had caused most of his classmates to wonder what had happened to her. Other, more infantile students snickered behind their hands or pointed at the obvious changes Fuki had gone through.

He hadn't seen the want or need in such actions. His opinion was tamer as he knew that practically anything was possible with chakra. The Aburame Clan had insects that lived in their bodies, the Inuzuka Clan's dogs could _talk_, the Yamanka Clan could read minds, and etc. So what if Fuki looked different?

That was, however, until Iruka-sensei had got involved. Iruka-sensei had called out those students for being bullies and assigned them a solid week of detentions. In addition to that, Iruka-sensei had informed their parents of their behavior. The parents, who seemed to know something about Fuki they didn't, scolded their children and made them apologize to Fuki for their behavior. When some of them continued to act that way, Naruto had taken charge.

No one knew how Naruto had become friends with Fuki over her absence but they _did_ know they were especially close. This was never more obvious than when Naruto systematically destroyed Fuki's abusers in the daily Taijutsu spars. A comment about leaving Fuki alone to the defeated boys afterward, with a promise of future butt-kicking if they didn't leave Fuki alone, made sure that they stayed as far away from Fuki as they possibly could.

After school, Fuki and Naruto would usually go to an unoccupied training ground and train. For Fuki, it was to get better control of her body and to continue practicing with the Akademī's E-Rank ninjutsu. For Naruto, it was to test a certain "chakra ratio" he wanted to try out and see if it would actually allow him access to the kitai nature.

Sasuke had discovered this one day when he was walking home after school. He had heard them practicing in one of the training grounds near the "Uchiha District" and then an explosion. He didn't know what had made him rush to help them—certainly not because he was _worried_ about his rival—but he had. When he had got here, Fuki was fretting over Naruto's singed, unconscious body.

He had taken charge, then, and told her to do what she could when it came to first aid before he went to go get a relative to help. His older cousin, Inabu, was the first he found and willing to help and, after he told Inabu about what happened, they rushed to get Naruto to the hospital. The exasperated medic-nin that was his rival's doctor said that Naruto had accidentally added too much fire-natured chakra into his "chakra ratio".

Somehow Naruto, when had waken up, had taken his supposed "concern" as a sign that he "liked" the blonde. He didn't have the time to protest before Naruto and Fuki had dragged him into a training ground after school on day. He had demanded to know what was going on, then, but the blonde moron had asked him what he needed help on. He had scoffed, thinking that neither of them could help him, and had only taken Naruto's advice when he was told he could leave if Naruto was wrong.

And, _curse him_, Naruto had been right. When Sasuke had demanded to know how Naruto knew exactly how to do that specific jutsu, his rival had just told him that he had cleaned a lazy Chῡnin's apartment who then paid him with the instructions on how to do it. He had learned the tricks needed to mould the chakra properly from another shinobi, with that one needed him to house-sit while she was out on a mission.

It soon began to become a sort of "habit" for him to go to Naruto and Fuki whenever he needed help. To start spending more and more of his afternoons with the pair. Of course he found Naruto's experimentation with chakra ratios odd, and his dream of "Kiton" a little far-fetched, but... seeing that determination and belief that it would work... it slowly made Sasuke believe that maybe his rival _could_ do it.

But he did _not_ enjoy carting Naruto to the hospital with Fuki whenever one of those a certain chakra ratios went wrong. And he despised the familiarity with the hospital staff he soon acquired, the way they commented about his "friendship" with Naruto, and how "cute" he was.

Then one day, when he and Fuki had been sick, Naruto did it. He actually found a stable chakra ratio that allowed him access to the kitai nature of chakra! Despite what one would expect following this revelation, things didn't change that much. They still met and trained after school, occasionally went to dinner together, etc. The only difference was that Naruto was trying to create the first kiton jutsu.

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato—Training Grounds #7**

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"Are you ready for this, Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a small smirk on his face, "'Cause I won't be holding back!"

Sasuke scoffed, "As if you could ever beat me, Naruto. I know all of your tricks."

Instead of countering, like Sasuke thought Naruto would, the blonde instead waited until Fuki announced the start of the match. In an instant, both nine year-olds jumped backwards from each other while running through hand-seals as quickly as they could. Sasuke finished first.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!" Sasuke announced the name of his technique before he released an enormous, ten by ten foot fireball from his mouth. It was kind of ironic to begin the "friendly" match with the jutsu that Naruto had helped him master but they were shinobi in-training.

There was an enormous explosion as his fireball met with a hastily made wall of dense gas that Naruto had thrown up. The gas ignited as the fireball got within millimeters of it which then caused a chain reaction that inevitably led, as those watching could predict, to an enormous explosion.

Landing on the ground, Sasuke warily surveyed the explosion's resulting smoke. Both he and Fuki were aware that this alone would not be able to defeat Naruto. No matter what either of them threw at him, he always seemed to have some way to escape them.

Today they both found out what that way _was_.

Naruto slowly walked out of the smoke as faint wisps of colored gas returned to his body. "Kiton: Henge no Jutsu (Gas Release: Transformation Technique)."

"You shouldn't have been able to use Kiton during that explosion." Sasuke responded with a small frown. What was Naruto trying to pull here? "If you did, the gas would've only served as more fuel to the explosion."

"But what if I had turned myself into gas before the explosion, Sasuke?" Naruto asked with a smirk. His body blurred around the edges as portion of it slowly transformed into colored gas wisps. "And then hid _underground_ and waited for the explosion to end?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "Clever. I suppose this technique of yours is the reason why Fuki and me can't catch you?"

"Its really hard to catch _gas_, Sasuke." Naruto answered with a shrug. "I think Fuki was here when I made this technique... the first ever Kiton Ninjutsu!"

In response, Sasuke unleashed another fireball at Naruto and then followed it up by sending a small barrage of shuriken at his rival. Naruto's eyes bugged out at the fireball before he _floated_ upwards and avoided it. He seemed about to chide Sasuke before Sasuke's shuriken slashed into the space where his stomach was, dispersing the gas there.

"Hey!"

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" Naruto whirled around to see Sasuke, who had replaced himself with one of his shuriken, expelling a ball of flames from his mouth. His eyes widened before he quickly ended his transformation.

As a result of this, Naruto fell to the ground as he was no longer able to float, at the same speed Sasuke fell. It also caused the fireball to soar over his head and miss him by only five inches, allowing Naruto to feel how _hot_ it was. Landing on the ground, Naruto glared at Sasuke and unleashed a volley of shuriken at him. "You tried to kill me!"

"That's what shinobi _do_." Sasuke retorted as he unleashed his own shuriken.

The metal weapons collided in mid-air with small clangs before falling to the ground. As the last one fell, both combatants glared at each other before rushing at each other. They engaged in a brief but serious bout of Taijutsu; punching, kicking, dropping to the ground, dodging, rinse and repeat.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke's incoming fist with his right hand before lashing out with his left, which Sasuke grabbed. A stalemate, then? "Shinobi are also known to "take out their enemies at all costs"... Pity you aren't the only one who can cause explosions..."

White gas poured from Naruto's mouth as Sasuke tried to disengage. He, however, found Naruto's grip like iron and felt a growing sense of dread. Would Naruto really sacrifice himself to take him down? And why were they fighting anyway? Something about a sparring match...?

"Honestly..." Fuki sighed as she landed, perching on their arms. The place where her talons became cold to the touch as Naruto's gas started to drop in temperature, "Why do you two have to try and kill each other _every_ time you spar? It's getting really annoying."

Oh, yeah. Everything came rushing back to the two now-shivering boys. They _had_ been sparring. Naruto had wanted to show off his kiton technique and Sasuke had wanted to show off the newest technique that Itachi-niisan had taught him.

"S-Sorry, F-Fuki-Chan..." Naruto apologized, teeth chattering.

That was another thing. Apparently whatever _that man_ had done to Fuki, it had changed the nature of her chakra. When she excluded Killing Intent, the area around her would go cold, like it was now, or even begin to freeze. It was interesting because it meant that Fuki had the ability to learn Hyōton. Sure she would have to find out how to use her kōri-natured chakra to create Hyōton techniques.

Neither Naruto or Sasuke were excited about when Fuki would finally develop one. Sure, they would be happy for her but... she would probably use them on one of them when their spars grew too intense or they annoyed her.

"Well?" Fuki demanded, looking at Sasuke. "What have you got to say?"

Sasuke absently noticed that he could barely feel his arms anymore. "I'm _sorry_." He said, acting as if the word "sorry" was a new word he was trying to pronounce. "... for allowing the idiot to take things so far."

"Hey! You're the one that tried—!" Naruto began.

Fuki's right 'hand' covered Naruto's mouth, "Don't start yelling, please. My ears are still ringing from that explosion." When he nodded, Fuki removed her wing from his mouth and then turned to Sasuke, "As for you... you were the one that attempted to blow Naruto to smithereens... so don't attempt to place all the blame on him."

"... I'm sorry." Sasuke sighed.

"Good~!" Fuki chirped before she leapt off their arms and onto hte ground. In an instant, both shinobi in-training withdrew their arms and began to rub them furiously. "Come on~. My Otōsan is coming to take us to get some ice cream. Mmhm~!"

Naruto and Sasuke shared a glance and then turned to Fuki, "You're twisted."

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique): The Uchiha Clan's "right of passage" technique. It transforms the chakra within the body of the user into that of fire, which is then expelled from the lungs as a sphere of flames. This technique apparently requires more than average chakra reserves and most Genin should not be able to do this technique. C-Rank. Mid to Long Range. Offensive.

2. Kiton: Henge no Jutsu (Gas Release: Transformation Technique): An adapted version of the standard Henge no Jutsu. In this, Naruto transforms his body into colored gas. In this state most attacks simply pass right through him, dispersing the gas it passes through. Fire, however, has been shown to work against this jutsu as it causes Naruto's gas body to ignite and then explode. Furthermore, to attack, Naruto must disengage this jutsu. C-Rank. Short Range. Supplementary.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** Well, this chapter was to show the completion of Naruto's little "group" and make you question some things. Why has Sasuke not mentioned the Uchiha Clan Massacare? Why is he still calling Itachi niisan? Did the Massacare even happen at all? What did Orochimaru _do_ to Fuki?

And I hoped you liked Naruto's first ever Kiton Ninjutsu~! Tell me what you think about it, and this chapter, in you're reviews and messages! I take comments, constructive criticism, but flames will be happily ignored.


	9. Gas IV:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas IV:

* * *

At the moment, one could find Iruka Umino and his teaching assistant, Mizuki, sitting behind a table that was covered in shiny hitai-ite. The hitai-ite were there to remind the incoming students of what was as stake. They were also there to encourage he students to do their best, so they could get one and become a shinobi, or kunoichi, themselves.

Throughout the day, they had been calling in students from the classroom to take the test and were almost done. The only students left were Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Fuki Yumi.

It was kind of ironic, in a way. In the beginning, Naruto, Sasuke, and Fuki couldn't have been anymore different than each other. Naruto was a goofy prankster, Sasuke was a child prodigy, and Fuki was a short-tempered little girl. Naruto had hated Sasuke because he was respected and admired by the grown-ups, Sasuke hated Naruto because he was always challenging him, and Fuki admired Sasuke while thinking that Naruto was an oblivious idiot.

That all changed, though, when Naruto asked him about that little slip of chakra paper. Naruto had become so interested in learning things above his level, which gave Iruka the opportunity to force Naruto to do better in class by bribing him with that information. Of course, he didn't expect that it would be such a major success. He had never suspected that he would have played such a large role in helping the blonde on his way to making Kiton.

When Fuki returned to the class after her "prolonged absence", he never would have thought that Naruto would've become her best friend. It was sweet, though. The two of them stayed together at recess and lunch, stood up for each other, or just talked. One day he had even trailed after them and discovered that the two spent the afternoons training together.

Sasuke had come into Fuki and Naruto's lives after some small incident that no one really knew about. After that, though, Naruto slowly drew Sasuke into his group. It helped that Naruto wasn't feeling so inferior to Sasuke anymore and was focusing on making "Kiton" jutsu. That allowed Sasuke to slowly let go of his dislike of the blonde. The rest, as they say, was history.

The door to the "graduation room" opened, snapping Iruka out of his thoughts. He looked up to see the first of the Naruto's little group enter the room: Sasuke Uchiha. The black-haired boy was wearing a red shirt with his clan's emblem emblazoned on the back, a pair of black shorts, and black sandals. He also had a supply pouch strapped to the right of his belt and a spare kunai holster attached to the side of his right knee.

"Alright, Sasuke." Iruka began pleasantly. "To graduate, you just need to show us that you can perform the Bunshin no Jutsu."

This caused Sasuke's eyes to widen sightly as his mouth curled into a frown. For weeks, Iruka-sensei had been telling the class to study up for the Graduation Exam and _this_ was what the stupid thing was?! A test to see if you could make the most basic of clones?! This had nothing to do with what they had been studying! It was outrageous! It was... genius.

By having this as the real test, those last-minute slackers who had crammed everything Iruka-sensei said they needed for the test... would show their real skills. Iruka-sensei had confirmed that all of them had "passable clones" before he had begun to review for the "test". Most of the students would probably have focused on what Iruka-sensei had said and stop practicing with the Bunshin no Jutsu. If they couldn't do the Bunshin no Jutsu _then_, they wouldn't pass _now_.

Genius.

"Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique)." Sasuke said boredly, hands in the customary Ram hand-seal. In an instant, three illusionary clones sprung into existence around his body.

Iruka nodded at him and jotted down his results while Mizuki gestured towards the hitai-ite on the table. Sasuke dismissed the clones, walked to the table, and grabbed a red-colored hitai-ite before he left the room. When Naruto heard of this, he was going to _flip_!

XXXXXX

When Naruto was told what the Graduation Test would be, all he saw was red. _'Sasuke knew that this was the test and he didn't tell me?!' _He remembered back to when Sasuke had come out of the testing room with that red hitai-ite and smirked at him. _'I'll get you for this, Sasuke!'_

Sasuke _knew_ that he had only just learned how to do the Bunshin no Jutsu. He hadn't really focused on mastering the Bunshin no Jutsu earlier, too focused with his Kiton jutsu, until Fuki had made him. She had been worried about the upcoming test and wanted to see if they could do all the basic jutsu that Iruka-sensei taught them. And when she had seen that he couldn't do the Bunshin no Jutsu... well...

Let's just say that it was very, very bad.

Naruto shivered in remberence of what had happened before he shook himself. He made to put his hands in the Ram hand-seal before a sudden thought struck him. Why not show his Iruka-sensei his own, personal Bunshinjutsu? It was still technically a Bunshin and it would show Iruka-sensei how far he had advanced with his Kiton...

"Kiton: Gasu Bunshin no Jutsu (Gas Release: Gas Clone Technique)!" Naruto announced with a grin on his face. Different strands of colored gas leaked from his mouth and twisted in mid-air, slowly coming together into a flawless clone of Naruto. The same thing happened with all of the other gas until there were five Gasu Bunshin crouching on the ground around himself.

Mizuki's eyes widened.

Iruka lost hold of his pencil which then caused it to clatter to the floor. He stayed that way for a couple of moments until he saw Naruto's expectant expression and mentally slapped himself. He knew that Naruto had developed a couple of Kiton-based jutsu and that he was having some trouble with clones. Why wouldn't the blonde have experimented to see if making a Bunshin was easier with Kiton?

"Congratulations." Iruka said at last, practically beaming at his student. "You graduate, Naruto."

"Whoo-hoo!" The Narutos cheered. Iruka was amused and even more amazed when the Narutos turned to each other and gave each other high fives. Those clones of Naruto were _tangible_? His student really had come far. "Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

XXXXXX

"The Bunshin no Jutsu?" Fuki muttered to herself before her lips curled, one 'hand' coming up to cover the lower half of her face. "Fufufufufu... I should've known when Sasuke came out and looked at Naruto that way..."

"Uh... Fuki?" Iruka asked.

Fuki startled at his voice and then remembered just why she was in the room, _'Oh, yeah...'_ How could she have forgotten? Her two 'hands' came together in the standard, if not slightly awkward, Ram hand-seal. "Bunshin no Jutsu."

The red-haired girl's body blurred before three illusionary clones walked out from it and took up positions around Fuki. Said girl then released her hand-seal and looked up at her two sensei. Her look practically said "Is that good enough for you?" but not quite.

"Yes. You pass." Iruka said and gestured towards the hitai-ite. "Congradulations, Fuki."

Fuki smiled a bit before she dismissed her clones. She spread her 'arms' and jumped, gliding over to the table and using one 'foot' to grab onto red hitai-ite. Her tail hit Mizuki-sensei in the face as she turned, flying out the door. "H-Hey!"

Of course she could have walked, but was the point of that? She wasn't as scared of her body anymore as she had been when she returned. She loved it, even. That little display was to remind them of that fact, as she didn't need anyone's pity. Plus... she really didn't like Mizuki-sensei. He just gave her the chills.

* * *

**Hi no Kuni—Konohagakure no Sato**

* * *

Right now, if one walked into the Hokage's Office, they would find a war-zone. Jōnin were fighting Jōnin with the ferocity of killer, starving tigers out for _blood_. They lashed out at their fellow man, or woman, with everything that they had. The reason for this: "if he/she won't back down from taking a team this year, I'll _make_ him/her".

It was to this pandemonium that the Sandiame Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, walked into after having gone to the bathroom. He looked at the various stacks of scattered paperwork, the ruined furniture, the scorched walls, the broken window, and the puddle on the floor. He saw his Jōnin fighting each other in death matches, though considerate enough not to use really destructive techniques.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Hiruzen roared.

"The team must be mine!"

"No! I can train them better, so I should train them!"

"No! Me!"

"No, _me_!"

"_ME!_"

"Back off, hag! You don't have the skill necessary to teach such a team!"

"HAG?! That's it! _DIE!_"

Hiruzen had never been more confused. What on earth would make his faithful Jōnin fight each other and disobey his direct orders. It seemed to be some sort of team they all wanted to train... but why would they resort to this mess for _that_? The graduating shinobi in-training were from Iruka's class... _wait_.

He should've expected this. There was only one future team that would make his Jōnin froth at the mouth and attack their comrades like they were now... The team composing of self-titled "Kiton no Shinobi" Naruto Uzumaki, Fuki Yumi (or the Tsubasa no otome, as some people were calling her), and the child prodigy Sasuke Uchiha. Who _wouldn't_ want such a team?

"Hah! You must be getting pretty old, hag! That assassination jutsu of yours is sub-par!"

"I wasn't finished killing you yet!"

"Are you sure you could teach them with only Genjutsu?"

"Why don't I show you?"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Wow. She's good."

"She still won't get the team. And neither will you!"

"What! Wait. I was trying to- AHHHH!"

The Jōnin who took up that team would be able to do a lot of things. They could turn the team into a great assault team, an information gathering/interrogation team, a deep cover spying team, an advanced tracking team... the possibilities were endless. And all of his Jōnin knew this and wanted to be the sensei of the team so that they could make the team into what they wanted.

There was also the bonus of being credited as one of the most promising group of shinobi since the Sannin... That probably also played a major role, too.

"Take that! I _will_ have a team this year! Anko-sama has so much to teach them~!"

"And let your sadistic nature rub off on them? Never! I will kill myself before I allow that to happen!"

"... That can be arranged."

"ENOUGH!" Hiruzen roared as he unleashed the full brunt of his Killing Intent on his Jōnin, freezing them in place. "I will decide who becomes Naruto, Fuki, and Sasuke's Jōnin sensei since none of you have the maturity to talk things out like adults!"

* * *

**Hi no Kuni—Konohagakure no Sato**

* * *

When Yamato entered Room #105 to collect his students, he was glad to see that they were doing something to pass the time. He had been unfortunately delayed on his way here and dealing with those responsible had taken a little bit of time. _'Why couldn't they have accepted that I am the leader of this team...?'_

His students were playing a game of chess on a board made out of ice. The pieces themselves were small, colored bits of gas that Naruto moved according to his future teammates' requests. It seemed, though, as if Fuki was winning. The scowl on Sasuke's face, and the amused expression on Fuki's face, said it all.

"Hello—"

In an instant, the three of them reacted. Sasuke grabbed hold of the game board and hurled it at Yamato at the same time as the chess pieces rocketed towards the brown-haired man. Yamato bent backwards to avoid the spinning game board and moved to the side to avoid the game pieces, only to find Fuki coming down on him with her talons.

_'Nice strategy...'_ He thought with a small wince as Fuki's talons hit the arm he raised to defend himself with. _'But why are they attacking me, anyway? I just came in and said "hello".' _

Naruto clasped his hands in a hand-seal, "I don't know who you are but we're tired of all those wanna-bes coming here and saying their our sensei! Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu (Gas Release: Breath of Air Technique)!"

Of course. Yamato should've realized that some of the more desperate Jōnin would've come here to claim the team for themselves. His future team had obviously figured this out for themselves and were now taking out anyone that claimed to be their real sensei. Understandable, but also annoying.

Out of Naruto's mouth came a small bullet of white-colored gas that flew at Yamato. At the same time, Yamato began to feel a little drowsy, absently wondering why he hadn't escaped from Fuki's clutches or thrown her off him. He was starting to feel a little cold, too...

Wait? _Cold?!_

"Hyōton: Nemui no Jutsu (Ice Release: Sleepy Technique)." Fuki announced, answering his unasked question. "A technique of mine that mixes Genjutsu with my kōri-natured chakra to lure the opponent into sleep while they become as cold as ice..."

So that was what it was? Genjutsu? It was a surprisingly suptle one... and he had never heard of using Nature Transformation in _Genjutsu_... What a surprising little bunch of Genin he was going to train this year.

Naruto's white bullet came within five feet of them before Fuki leapt off of him. She was ten feet away before she began to speak almost as one unit with Naruto, "Konbijutsu: Furasshu reitō (Collaboration Technique: Flash Frozen)!"

Naruto's Kiton: Soyokaze expanded into a cloud of white gas that completely enveloped Yamamoto before Fuki quickly reduced the temperature of the gas with her kōri-natured chakra. Instants later, the gas transformed into liquid, freezing as it fell to the floor. In the middle of the former gas cloud stood Yamato, blue-skinned and frozen with a long branch of wood escaping from his right palm.

"That takes care of another wanna-be..."

* * *

It took a stern talking to by the Sandaime Hokage before the future Team Yamato learned that they had flash-frozen their sensei. And _yes_, Yamato was their sensei, unlike the other thirty other people they had dealt with the day they were supposed to meet their Jōnin sensei. And no, he _wasn't_ lying about it.

So, five days after Yamato had been sent to the hospital, he registered his future team as full shinobi. He would to work to make them see that he was a competent Jōnin-level ninja and that he had a lot to teach them. One main point he hoped to get across was _don't freeze your comrades _unless they were traitors. In that case, he would signal the green light and let that unfortunate man or woman deal with being flash-frozen.

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique): A ninjutsu that creates an intangible copy of one's own body, without any substance. Since the clone itself doesn't have the ability to attack, and thus can only be used to confuse the enemy, it is mainly used in combination with other ninjutsu. It's a basic technique, but depending on one's ingenuity, it can be used effectively. The clones will dissipate when they come into contact with something. E-rank. Short to Mid Range. Supplementary.

2. Kiton: Gasu Bunshin no Jutsu (Gas Release: Gas Clone Technique): A ninjutsu that creates a clone of the user's body, made out of the colored gas that is expelled from the user's mouth. Unlike regular clones, these clones can attack but, so far, they are incapable of using any ninjutsu of their own. As they are made of gas, they have the ability to float or, with a spark, gas a reaction with their bodies and explode in an enemy's face. D-Rank. Mid Range. Supplementary.

3. Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu (Gas Release: Breath of Air Technique): A technique that allows Naruto to expel a large bullet of gas at enemy. It is usually harmless when made with its standard nitrogen gas. It is _very_ useful in collaboration techniques with both Sasuke and Fuki and acts as the base for them. D-Rank. Long Range. Supplementary.

4. Hyōton: Nemui no Jutsu (Ice Release: Sleepy Technique): A technique that mixes Genjutsu with Fuki's kōri-natured chakra. While the victim will experience no customary signs of Genjutsu, they will slowly begin to feel more and more drowsy the longer that Fuki is in contact with her. C-Rank. Short Range. Supplementary.

5. Konbijutsu: Furasshu reitō (Collaboration Technique: Flash Frozen): A Collaboration Technique that combines Naruto's Kiton: Soyokaze with Fuki's kōri-natured chakra to transform nitrogen gas into liquid nitrogen. It is mainly used when an enemy can't dodge so that they can incapacitate him/her by flash-freezing them. C-Rank. Short Range. Offensive/Supplementary.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** Well, that's the end of this chapter. Let me know what you guys think in your reviews and messages... Also, this is supposed to be funny, as Jōnin would not have death-matches over a team of Genin and Yamato would not have lost against them... or would they?

Silliness aside, Yamato was surprised and didn't have time to think. He could easily have defeated them with his Mokuton, but he didn't want to hurt them. I mean, they were his students, even if not offically yet.


	10. Gas V:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas V:

* * *

**Konohagakure no Sato**—**Administration Building**

* * *

At the moment, one would find Team Yamato standing on a brown mat in front of the Mission Assignment Desk. Sitting behind the desk were the Sandaime Hokage and five nondescript Chῡnin who were separating mission scrolls into separate piles. They were also looking at reports from completed missions, recording the "mission complete" and the rank of the missions in little black logbooks.

The Sandaime Hokage overlooked the group for a moment, his experienced eyes taking in everything about them. Any injuries they might have, the state of the team's clothing, the schooled expressions the team wore, the professional stances they all stood in, the glints in their eyes. He saw it all and more, _much_ more.

"I wouldn't ordinarily do this but, because of your performances during your sixty D-rank missions, the glowing reviews from your clients, and personal recommendation from your Jōnin sensei... I have decided to grant Team Yamato their first C-rank mission."

This—This was a _huge_ step. Naruto, Fuki, and Sasuke had tired of D-rank missions the first day they had to catch Tora. They would have complained earlier about it but Yamato had warned them against it, saying that they were adults in the eye of the law now. It would only tarnish their future careers if it was noted that they were childish or pushy or, even worse, demanded a mission above their level. Plus, while D-ranks usually ranged from 5,000 and 50,000 ryō each mission, shinobi could do several each day, quickly racking up a payment equal to a day's work.

C-ranks, though, were completely different. Not only did the pay range from 30,000 and 100,000 ryō, the missions weren't "glorified chores". C-ranks missions involved actual shinobi work like bodyguarding, gathering semi-important plants or herbs from outside of the village, hunting wild animals, or delivering mail. A single C-rank mission would look _great_ on their records, especially since they had graduated two months ago.

And, if the mission went well, they could probably get another C-rank mission after they finished this one.

"What is the mission, Hokage-sama?" Yamato asked in place of his three shell-shocked, though noticeably recovering Genin. "... If I may ask so, of course."

The Sandaime Hokage nodded, "Your team will be escorting the leader of Takigakure no Sato, and his son, back to their village. He has just completed a series of negotiations with Konoha for Taki and he has requested a Konoha team to take him home."

Naruto was practically beaming at this point. This mission would be the first time he had left Konohagakure and Hi no Kuni. He would be able to see how much the terrain resembled those shown in Iruka-sensei's lectures on geography. He might even get to see or pass by some of the famous, former battlegrounds between renowned shinobi.

The best part, though, was the opportunity this mission would present the team. They would be escorting their client back to Takigakure no Sato, the fabelled "unlocatable hidden village". The _reason_ that Taki no Kuni hadn't fallen during the last three shinobi world wars, despite the fact that it was surrounded by four different countries. They, mere Genin, would see something that a lot of shinobi and hidden villages would sacrifice practically _anything_ for.

It was a humbling thought.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Team Yamato bowed as one to the Sandaime Hokage. Then Yamato stepped forward and asked, "When should we leave?"

"Your mission begins tomorrow morning at six o'clock sharp. And the mission should last about two or three weeks. I suggest you pack for a three week trip." The Sandaime Hokage responded. A faint grin broke out onto his wrinkled features as he leant forward, "And be sure to tell me all about your trip when you get back..."

Naruto grinned, "Sure can do!"

"Fufufufufufu..." Fuki chuckled slightly, covering her mouth with her right "hand". "We'll do our best to get as much details for you as we can, Hokage-sama..."

"We are going to a living legend, after all." Sasuke commented with a smirk. While the Sandaime Hokage may be teasing them about telling him about their mission when they got back, he must have been curious about Takigakure no Sato as well. _Everyone_ was.

* * *

**Hi no Kuni—Konohagakure no Sato—North Gate**

* * *

Team Yamato met up with their client and his son at precisely 6:00 am the next morning. The client himself was a man with short, spiky black hair and steel blue-colored eyes. He was wearing a dark-blue shirt, formfitting black pants, black sandals, and a dark-blue Taki hitai-ite around his forehead. And his name was Ike Numaken.

His son, Shibuki Numaken, was Sasuke, Fuki, and Naruto's age. He had short black hair, blue eyes, and slightly pale white skin. He was wearing a light blue, long-sleeved shirt, black pants, dark-blue sandals, and had a purple Taki hitai-ite tied around his forehead.

When Ike and Shikbuki saw Team Yamato, though, their reactions varied. Shibuki's eyes widened at the sight of Fuki—noting the wings, the talons, and the tail—and stayed glued on her despite his best attempts to look away. Ike looked a bit surprised at Fuki's appearance but quickly schooled his expression and glanced at his son. Seeing him staring, Ike gently tapped him in the forehead and then shook his head when Shibuki looked at him.

Even though Fuki looked as if she hadn't noticed the look, the rest of her team did. Yamato put a comforting hand on her "shoulder" while Naruto and Sasuke whispered something to her. At the same time, they gave Shibuki murderous glances. They knew Fuki was still a bit self-conscious about "her changes", despite what she said to the contrary, and having looks like that directed at her didn't help one bit.

_'If you weren't our client's son...'_ Naruto thought angrily.

Yamato stepped forward and gave Ike a small bow, "Good morning, Ike-sama. As you have requested of the Sandaime Hokage, we have come to escort you back to your village."

"Then let us be off." Ike said once Yamato had gotten up, "I hope we can cover a lot of land before nightfall."

Team Yamato's three Genin shared looks. The client wanted to cover a lot of ground? They grinned at each other. With her wings, Fuki could fly and, with his Kiton, Naruto could levitate himself and glide through the air. If the client wanted to cover a lot of ground, Naruto could create a small horde of Gasu Bunshin to life Ike, Shibuki, Sasuke, and Yamato as they flew.

_'I _will_ find a technique that allows me to fly, or I will develop one.' _Sasuke thought with slight annoyance. Why was he the only one of them that didn't have a special ability or technique that would allow him to fly like the others? It irked him just a little bit. He was still happy for his friends, though. With a pinch of jealousy.

"Ike-sama... we have a suggestion." Fuki said as she stepped forward, pointedly not looking at Shibuki. "You see, my teammate and I have the ability to fly. If you wanted to cover more ground faster, we would be most happy to use these abilities to speed things along..."

Ike looked at Yamato, who nodded, verifying the information. Takigakure's leader than looked at his son, who looked curious about the thing. His son was probably wondering if it was similar to _her_ method of flight and, to tell the truth, so was he.

"We can do that."

* * *

**The sky above Hi no Kuni**

* * *

"I still can't believe this thing is made out of those..." Ike paused for a moment, straining his memory to see if he could remember the name of those clones the blonde had made. "Gasu Bunshin?" Yeah, that seemed right. "... It's unbelievable, really."

After Ike had agreed to allow Team Yamato to use their abilities of flight, Naruto had created a small horde of "Gas Bunshin" which he then used the Henge no Jutsu. This had transformed the clones into a large, light-weight _raft_ that would be able to hold everybody. But that wasn't the best part though. No that honor belonged to the fact that, even with their weight in it, the raft was able to float into the sky.

Sasuke shrugged, "That's Naruto for you."

"And it isn't that unbelievable, Ike-sama." Yamato cut in with a helpful air. "You see, Naruto's Gasu Bunshin have the ability to control whether or not they float and/or fly in the air or not. So even in this transformed state, they are choosing to float."

"Shouldn't our weight have made it impossible for us to be up here, though?" Shibuki asked.

"Of course it should! My Gasu Bunshin Raft™ could probably only hold two of you guys by itself." Naruto said from where he, using his Kiton: Henge no Jutsu, was floating above the raft. "I'm using a new Kiton jutsu I developed to cushion the bottom of the Gasu Bunshin Raft™. Not only does this "cushion" bear the extra weight, it also allows the Gasu Bunshin Raft™ to do its intended job."

"... That doesn't make any sense."

Naruto looked down at the offender who said that while his eye began to twitch. He had explained it really well! It should make perfect sense! Why he aught too just open a hole in the raft underneath Shikbuki and watch him plummet. it would serve the little teme right, for eyeing Fuki like some sort of monster, and for questioning his Kiton jutsu.

"Shibuki-san... Naruto is the developer of an entirely new branch of Elemental Ninjutsu." Fuki said from her place on the raft. Hey, give her a break! Her wings had gotten tired after the first hour of flying so high in the sky. And the raft looked so inviting and comfortable, she just couldn't resist. "I know he tries to explain it as best as he could but unless you have his knowledge, it can be hard to understand what he means."

"Oh... what is he tryying to say?"

"Naruto has used his Kiton Ninjutsu to create a cloud of dense gas on the underside of this raft. This cloud is partialy bearing the weight of the raft. Do you see how Naruto's hands are twitching? That is a sign that he is controlling the cloud's direction, as when he twists his fingers a certain way, the cloud and raft turns that way too."

Naruto's eyes bugged out. How had Fuki noticed _that_?

Fuki glanced at her blonde teammate as her right "hand" came up to her lower mouth, "Fufufufufufu fufufu..." Ike and Shibuki tensed, "You didn't think that I didn't notice, Naruto? I have to notice. It's essential for our slowly developing arsenal of Konbijutsu."

"You two are already developing Konbijutsu?" Ike asked, surprised.

"Yes. Naruto's Kiton techniques mix well with my own techniques, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that we decided to use that as a basis for Konbijutsu." Fuki answered before she turned her head and glanced over at Sasuke, "Our Konbijutsu thought are not as destructive as Naruto and Sasuke's Konbijutsu, though.

Sausuke raised an eyebrow, "You call flash-freezing an enemy, the area around the enemy, or a supporting structure is less destructive? Do you even _remember_ that time when you took out the main supporting structure of the K.M.P's—"

_"Don't_ mention that!" Naruto shivered.

"Our Konbijutsu don't cause explosions whenever they take effect, so no, I don't believe they are as destructive as yours. Or as _noticeable." _Fuki said with a small, challenging smirk on her face. "And besides, the K.M.P said that building needed to come down anyway."

By this point, Ike an Shikbuki were very confused. It was very unheard of for a fresh Genin team to have enough trust and knowledge of each other's abilities to begin to develop Konbijutsu. But, judging by the closeness of Naruto and Fuki, it didn't seem that big of a step. Developing two entirely different "strings" of Konbijutsu, with two different people, at the same time? That was unprecedented. That was—that was...

A miracle.

"You are lecturing me about noticeabilityly? Hah! Your Konbijutsu, like mine, leaves very noticeable traces behind. Do you remember the floor of Iruka's classroom? How you basically poured "_five gallons_" of liquid nitrogen onto the floor?"

"I didn't see you complaining about it."

"That's because I thought they were all psychos! I didn't hae time to compain! If I did, I would've complained about not using those new Katon techniques that Itachi-niisan taught me back then."

"Katon, huh? If you used those, you might as well have burned down the school!"

Ike and Shibuki revised their opinions: Developing two entirely different "strings" of Konbijutsu, with two different people, at the same time, who argued with each other? It was _more_ than a miracle. Much, much, much more. Was there something "more" than a miracle?

"Stop bickering you two." Yamato interupted the growing argument with a stern look. "What have I told you about that?"

Sasuke and Fuki hung their heads, "Sorry, Yamato-sensei..."

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** Well, another little ficlet bites the dust. But we have started a semi-new C-rank Mission (considering that there was an OVA where Team Kakashi went to Takigakure no Sato)... but I hope it interests you. I mean, here Shibuki's dad is alive and they have reacted at Fuki's "Fufufufu" laugh... I actually can't wait to do Fu and expand on her, and Takigakure's, skills. Think "Powder-based" Ninjutsu.

Maybe I'll even through in a Fuki vs. Fu, Fuki & Naruto vs. Fu, or a Fuki & Naruto & Sasuke vs. Fu?

And poor little Sasuke. He can't fly yet, can he? He'll get a might bit jealous when he discovers that Fu can fly... or maybe get inspiration from how she does it so he can replicate it... or somehow learn Naruto's technique?


	11. Gas VI:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas VI:

* * *

**Taki no Kuni—Takigakure no Sato—Eien no ki**

* * *

_"Another jinchūriki has entered the village."_

Fū opened her orange eyes, which then narrowed as she processed the information. Another jinchūriki, hm? There weren't a lot of reasons that a jinchūriki would travel away from its village, even less so to a village such as Takigakure no Sato. So, why?

Perhaps Taki's leader had decided that she needed to be dealt with? That would explain why the man and his son had left, especially after he had stopped sending out men to "retrieve" her. She knew exactly what they would do to her if they could and "retrieving" her wasn't it. They wanted the power of the Nanabi and, if she wasn't going to use it for Taki, they would find someone else who would.

And, as she had shown that she was more powerful than anyone in Taki, they had gone to another village to find someone who could take her down. Another jinchūriki could probably do the trick but there was a chance that she could beat him/her. If Ike's shinobi helped that jinchūriki, though, that would greatly reduce her chances of survival. And Fū quite liked living, thank you very much.

Red chakra seeped out of her skin's pores, bubbling softly as it formed a red-tinted shroud around her boy. At the same time, Fū's eyes turned red, her mint-green hair grew messier, her teeth sharpened, and her nails transformed into claws. '_I'll strike before has a chance to gather enough men to assist his hired jinchūriki and destroy it...'_

Unnoticed, the Nanabi developed a grin and allowed Fū to pull even more of its chakra from it. This caused the cloak of chakra around Fū to shift as two insect-like wings slowly sprouted out of her back before they too were covered in the bubbling energy. It cackled, _"Yes, Fū... Kill them all!"_

Fū's eyes burned as she pumped her wings and jumped, taking flight. She would find this other jinchūriki and kill it before it could kill her. And then she would kill Ike for hiring the jinchūriki followed by all those people who had ever hurt her.

XXXXXX

Team Yamato, Ike, and Shibuki had barely got into Takigakure no Sato proper before things went to hell in a hand basket soon after, "Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret: Hiding in Scale Powder Technique)!"

This was said from somewhere above the six shinobi before a large cloud of glittering, powdery substance consumed them. Having not expected an attack, the group was unprepared and were too slow to get their weapons out before a red, enshrouded fist plunged into Naruto's blonde's eyes widened as he was hurtled outward from the cloud, blood squirting out from his mouth.

_'What... what _was_ that?!' _

After having punched the blonde, who the Nanabi told her was the jinchūriki, Fū darted after him. She wouldn't give the jinchūriki any time to recover and finish him off before he could react. The others she could deal with later, after she had killed the jinchūriki.

Fū was only twenty feet away from her target when wooden branches broke the surface of the ground and attempted to ensnare her. She snarled as one of them wrapped around her wings and lashed out with her claws even as she plunged towards the ground. Other branches reached up and captured her limbs, draining her of the Nanabi's chakra, but only served to enrage her even further.

How _dare_ they!?

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique)." Yamato stated coldly as he revealed himself, hands in a ram hand-seal to hold the technique. " I don't know why you're attacking my team, but I won't stand for it."

Ike's eyes were wide as he stumbled out of the falling cloud of powder. When he saw what was going on, he paled. "No! Get away from her! You don't know what she is capable of!"

At the same time, Naruto was being checked out by Fuki and Sasuke. Besides the burn in his clothes and the blood dribbling from his lips, he didn't seem injured. Naruto, though, wasn't paying any attention to that. He was more focused on the struggling, green-haired girl that Yamato-sensei was dealing with.

_'Why did she attack us?'_ Naruto thought before he frowned, _'... Why did she attack _me_?"_

"It's over." Fuki said, having misinterpreted his look.

Three seconds later, Fuki was proven wrong. The green-haired girl's strange shroud of red chakra flared, breaking Yamato-sensei's hold over her as the wooden bindings snapped. She lunged towards Yamato who raised his hand, wooden tendrils escaping his palm as they surged towards her. The girl, though, seemed to have learned and flew to the left.

"She broke out?!"

Fū backed off her newest target as he raised a wall of wood in front of himself and snarled. A second later, three other walls rose around her and attempted to cage her, but she was too fast. She flew out of the top, only to be kicked downwards by a wooden Bunshin. She knew it was one because she had managed to cleave it in two and it broke into wooden fragments.

This was becoming irritating.

_"Kill all those that have hurt you."_ The Nanabi whispered in her mind, seductively. _"Kill them... so they can never hurt you again."_

Fū raised her chakra-covered arm and swung it around, creating a long arm of chakra that left deep gouge marks in the wooden walls around her. Another swing separated the top portion of the walls from the bottom. A third sent broke the upper wall into shard fragments that rained down everywhere as she pulled her arm back and the chakra arm vanished.

There! Her prey had raised a wooden structure to block the rain of wood, protecting himself, Ike, and Shibuki. She flapped her wings and surged towards them, unleashing a chakra-amplified roar that knocked Shibuki onto his but. She slammed into her prey and knocked him backwards. The two of them began a tangled web of death, then.

She kicked and clawed and punched her prey in a mockery of Taijutsu as he blocked. There was no time for him to use the Kawarmi, as if he did, he would fall prey to her claws and die. Still, her blows were wearing him down and, without his wood jutsu, he could do nothing against her.

"Konbijutsu: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu (Collaboration Technique: Explosion Technique)!"

It was only then that Fū noticed the white-tinted gas around her and her prey. She didn't get to see what ignited it but, in the next second, both she and her prey fell victim to a massive explosion. The majority of the nearby trees burst into flames while the ground cratered and shook. It was this shockwave that knocked Ike, who was carrying Shibuki, off his feet and onto the ground.

Sasuke jumped onto a fragment of the former wooden wall and watched the explosion, "Do you think it got either of them?"

"Yamato-sensei wouldn't have fallen to that..." Naruto said as he and Fuki landed on either side of Sasuke. He sighed, "And it would be too easy for that girl to go down just like that, wouldn't it?"

Fuki was the first of the three to see that Naruto was indeed right; the girl had survived. The girl was flying towards them at a rapid speed, forced upward when Fuki launched a handful of shuriken at her. "I'll distract her for a bit while you guys figure out a plan!"

Then, before either of them could stop her, Fuki pumped her wings and flew into the sky. She and the girl clashed in mid-air; her taloned feet colliding with the girl's chakra-covered claws. Fuki hated to admit it but this girl had a lot of strength. Enough so that Fuki was struggling to hold her back even as the girl slowly pushed them both towards the earth.

Strength, though, didn't mean anything. The moment that Fuki had made contact with the girl, she had begun to use her Hyōton: Nemui no Jutsu. The closer they got to the ground, the more the girl seemed to notice her technique, which caused her red eyes to widen. The girl snarled.

Fuki plummeted as the girl punched her in her right wing, breaking one of the most important bones that allowed Fuki to fly. _'I-I can't move my arm...!'_ She thought, suddenly fearful. If she hit the ground from this height then... she would _die_.

Her savior turned out to be her would-be murderer as she grabbed Fuki by her broken wing, pulled her close, and dived towards the ground at a rapid speed. This action only made Fuki even more fearful as she realized what the other girl was doing. _The girl was using her to cushion her fall like a human shield._

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret: Hiding in Scale Powder Technique): A technique in which Fū releases a cloud of glittering powder from her mouth and towards an enemy. The glittering particles blind anyone who is caught within them, allowing Fū or an ally to sneak up on whoever is caught within the technique. Mid-Range. Supplementary.

2. Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique): A technique in which Yamato can cause a large number of roots to burst from the ground and towards a target. These roots will quickly wrap around the target and will be replaced with even more roots if they are torn off, making this technique very difficult to escape from. C-Rank. Short-Range. Offensive.

3. Konbijutsu: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu (Collaboration Technique: Explosion Technique): A collaboration technique between Naruto and Sasuke. It is preformed after Naruto has used Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu to surround a target. Sasuke then ignites it with a minor Katon technique or spark, causing a massive explosion. C-Rank. Short to Mid-Range. Offensive.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** I'm a little stinker, aren't I? I left you all with a cliff-hanger. Will Fuki survive? Will Team Yamato prevail against a paranoid jinchūriki that the Nanabi is fully supporting? Will Takigakure survive the resulting battle?

On a unrelated note, this story one that can adopt. I don't think I will be able to make it into a full story, but I will continue to add installations of "Gas" until I can't anymore. And, perhaps, this will inspire future/current writers to take it up? Or look into a concept such as Ninjutsu/Genjutsu (NinGenjutsu?)...


	12. Gas VII:

Disclaimers: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas VII:

* * *

"Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique)!"

Fuki almost cried with relief as she heard that all-too familiar voice before she heard wooden roots rip their way out of the earth. She did cry a little bit, though, when Yamato-sensei's jutsu caught her and the green-haired girl and pried her out of the other girl's grasp. The root deposited her on the ground 150 feet away, where Naruto and Sasuke fell upon her.

"Are you alright, Fuki-chan?" Naruto asked concernedly.

Sasuke stared at Naruto like he was insane as the green-haired girl, "Of course she's hurt, Naruto! Didn't you see that that girl broke her wing?" Naruto recoiled a little from the venom in his teammate's voice, causing Sasuke to sigh. "... You should have been asking where it hurt and what we could do for her."

"It's alright..." Fuki tried to say as she got onto her feet, holding her broken wing close. If she could find where her broken bone was, she could try and see if she could try and reinforce that area with chakra. If she could, she might be able to help her team out with that psycho. "I just have a broken wing."

Not that far away, Fuki could see Yamato-sensei use another of his Mokuton jutsu. It seemed to strengthen the snapping roots around the green-haired girl as well as thicken them to the width of them to that of a miniature horse's width. Still, this only seemed to be making the girl angrier, as she was flaring her red chakra and slowly breaking her way out of Yamato-sensei's jutsu.

"What happened to you guys?" Fuki asked after a moment, turning accusatory gazes towards her two teammates. "I told you that I was going to provide a distraction while you prepared a attack to hopefully knock her out with. Not that I was going to have my wing broken when you guys did nothing!"

Naruto and Sasuke flinched.

"We were coming to get you, Fuki-chan..." Naruto was the first to speak, sounding a bit hurt. "We were going to use one of our konbijutsu to knock her out of the sky and we were waiting for you guys to separate before we casted it." He looked down, "By the time we realized what was really going on, I sent some Gasu Bunshin..."

"RRRRAAGGHHHHHHH!"

At that moment, they all watched as the green-haired girl pulsed her chakra and were forced to their knees by the sheer amount of it. It felt as though a ton had suddenly been dropped onto their backs or a secret ocean above the sky had revealed itself. It was hard to breath. Hard to even think.

There was a smaller pulse of chakra as Ike suddenly appeared before them, "Don't worry..." He said as water from the nearby lake rushed over to his outstretched hand and formed into a blade. And _hardened_. "This s-should be over soon. Takigakure-Ryū: Hyaku dātsu (Village Hidden in a Waterfall Style: Hundred Darts)!"

Out of the bulky end of Ike's hardened water sword came a horde of hardened water darts that rocketed towards the bound green-haired girl. The girl didn't seem to notice them, more focused on ripping her way out of the wooden branches, which allowed the first dozen to pierce her chakra cloak. When the darts hit her, they pierced her, which _made_ her notice as thin trickles of blood ran out from around the tips of the darts.

"RRRAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH H!"

The next series of darts were deflected as the girl's chakra _surged. _This was followed by a shockwave of power that practically shredded her wooden restraints and sent debris in every direction. Yamato-sensei escaped underground while Ike's sword transformed into a shield that he stabbed into the ground. The impact of the shockwave hit him, pushing the shield backwards, leaving a deep gouge mark in the harassed earth.

"She's pissed."

Ike clenched his eyes shut for a moment, "I don't know what upset her... but this isn't good. Usually I can knock her out before she gets this angry..." He fired another series of darts from his shield at the girl as she roared. Like before, they were deflected. "Damn."

"You _know_ this girl?"

"I do. Her name is Fū. She was... given... a certain power at a young age that has caused everyone around her to shun her for it." Ike admitted warily. "She grew out of control a couple of times, so I had to intervene. It grew so out of control that I began to send men after her to put her out of her misery."

Naruto's eyes were wide, "... _What_?"

Ever since he realized that people didn't treat him as normally as the other kids, he had tried to gain people's attention. He did this by pulling pranks on them and making them acknowledge his existence as any attention, even if it was bad, was better than not getting any at all. He would've continued on that path but he had found that piece of Chakra Paper...

Here, though, was an example of what he could have been. If he had given into that little voice that had whispered in the back of his mind, telling him to get revenge on those that had hurt him, even if indirectly... could he have ended up like her? Could he have started lashing out at people?

And, if he had, would Hokage-jiji have sent men after him?

"You don't understand. The power that Fū was gifted with makes her extremely dangerous. If it isn't properly controlled, it will lead to situations like this one. In order to protect my village, I tried to stop her, as she attacked everyone who dared to even glance at her wrong."

Fuki looked sick.

Yamato-sensei emerged from the ground to deliver a vicious kick to the green-haired girl's stomach, sending her flying backwards. There was an enormous 'boom' as the girl's body collided with a nearby house which then collapsed down on her. Not taking any chances, Yamato-sensei quickly ran through another series of hand-seals.

"It is not for other hidden villages to judge what we do." Ike coldly stated, having seen the looks on their faces. "Or do you want Takigakure to judge Konohagakure for what _it_ has done?" Then, before Sasuke, Fuki, or Naruto could protest, he shot forward to go assist Yamato-sensei with a newly reformed hardened water sword.

"He's tried to kill her?" Fuki finally asked.

Sasuke looked towards where the girl was as she burst through the broken roof, "No wonder she's so angry."

"Huh?"

"She must've seen us exit the underwater tunnel into the village." Sasuke explained after he sighed. "She could've thought that Ike had hired us to help Takigakure kill her and retrieve the "gift" they gave her."

That made a lot of horrible, sick sense. Fū probably had become so paranoid because of the constant assassination attempts, and the beatings she got when she got "out of control", that she attacked before another attempt could happen. She didn't know that they had come to escort Ike and Shibuki home. All she knew was that there was a team of shinobi in the village with the man who had ordered her assassination.

"Stop." Sasuke said, seeing their looks. "No matter what we think, she attacked us. She is out of control and doesn't seem to be able to think rationally. We shouldn't get involved; Yamato-sensei and Ike look like they can handle this by themselves."

"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"They might kill her!" Naruto protested angrily, pointing to where the girl was battling Yamato-sensei, Ike, and a platoon of newly-arrived shinobi. "If we don't do something, they probably will!"

Sasuke glared right back, "And how is this our problem, Naruto? We weren't assigned to help some girl who can't control her own power. And she has attacked our team, tried to kill you, tried to kill Yamato-sensei, and tryied to kill Fuki by using her as a _human shield_!"

"If we don't help her, who will?!"

Then, before Sasuke could protest, Naruto activated his Kiton: Henge no Jutsu and flew off towards the growing battlefield. Fuki and Sasuke shared a glance before Fuki began running off after Naruto. Sasuke looked after them for a moment and then cursed his stupid teammates before following after them both. The _idiots_.

XXXXXX

Right now, Fū was begining to run out of gas, which was unusual for her. She usually had more energy and chakra that she knew to deal with, and _that_ was saying something. But those damn "Mokuton" techniques of that brown-haired man drained a lot of chakra from her and were terribly hard to get out of.

And now Ike and a bunch of her wanna-be killers had come out of the woodwork. They were using the "Mokuton"-user to use a jutsu to trap her and then use their techniques to try and injure her. She already had several burns, bruises, and countless small lacerations. Her chakra cloak should have prevented these injuries but the "Mokuton" had made it much weaker than it _should_ be, allowing Ike and his shinobi's techniques to pass through it with minimal resistance.

"Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō (Wood Release: Tree Bind Flourishing Burial)." The "Mokuton"-user shouted.

In an instant, an enormous tree burst out from underneath her. Its branches grabbed her before she could fly out of the way, pulling her into the tree as it snapped shut behind her. Inside it, countless roots enveloped her body, too tight for even her to break. She managed to headbut the area in frontof her, breaking it off to reveal the outside world.

"Thank you for your help, Yamato." Ike said, patting the "Mokuton"-user on the arm. "We'll take it from here."

The "Mokuton"-user—Yamato—nodded tiredly, "I didn't expect to find someone as... gifted, as it were... out here in Takigakure..."

Fū snarled as a few of Ike's shinobi appeared before him and Yamato, holding their "Watercutting swords" out in front of them. She knew what they were planning and doubled her struggles to escape. She couldn't allow them to do this! Not now!

"Hyōton: Yume o minai sekai (Ice Release: Dreamless World)."

In an instant, Fū felt herself become drowsy as snow began to fall down from the sky above her. The Mokuton-user's black eyes widened at the technique even as he became more and more drowsy with each droplet of snow that landed on him. Several of the shinobi in front of her stumbled before falling in the growing snow pile, unconsious before they hit the ground.

"Kiton: Fūha (Gas Release: Wind Wave)!"

A literal _wave _of white gas emerged from above Fū's prison and crashed into the row of shinobi standing in front of it. The majority of them were blown backwards alongside the snow. Some even yelled out in alarm, which amused her a bit, as they tried to shield their eyes from the combination of snow and gas.

Three figures, unaffected by the gas or snow, landed in front of Fū. She was surprised to see that it was the two regular shinobi and the jinchūriki she had tried to kill earlier. But... why were they hear? Why were they standing in front of her...? Didn't they know that they had just left their backs vulnreable to her?

_'Why...?'_

_"Don't pay any attention to them, my jinchūriki." _The Nanabi rumbled into her ears. _"They are just trying to lull you into a state of relaxation so they can kill you easier. Remember: These three and that damnable Mokuton user were hired to _kill_ you..."_

"Naruto! Sasuke! Fuki!" Yamato shouted angrily. "What are you doing? Stand down!"

The blonde jinchūriki shook his head, "Sorry, Yamato-sensei... but we can't. I know that this girl attacked us but she doesn't deserve to be _killed_ over it." His posture stiffened as he brought both of his hands together, "She deserves the chance to explan herself."

_'He... he doesn't want to kill me?'_ Fū thought confusedy as her chakra cloak slowly began to disappear. _'But... why? Nanabi... why doesn't he want to kill me? Why...'_ Her wings retracted into her skin as her cloak completely vanished. _'Why is he... defending... me?'_

"Stand down! None of us have any jurisdiction here, nor the right to interfere in Takigakure's internal affairs!"

_"No... He is not defending you..."_ The Nanabi rumbled with unseen, narrowed eyes. How _dare_ that brat try and sway over its host when it was so close to making her rip off the seal? _"He just wants the satisfaction of killing you himself..."_

Ike took a step forward, pointing his Watercutting Sword at the three shinobi in his path. He didn't seem to mind Fuki's Hyōton: Yume o minai sekai, but that could also be the result of the faint cloak of blue, human chakra covering him. "Listen to your commanding officer and stand down. If you do not... Takigakure may have to take drastic actions."

"Ike-san? "Drastic Actions"?! What are you talking about?"

_'This is it... they're going to walk away.'_ Fū thought as she stared at the backs of the three pre-teen shinobi. She should've known better than to expect them to do anything for her, especially after she tried to kill them. Still, she wasn't able to stop that seed of hope from appearing in her tormented heart. _'They're going to allow Ike to kill me...'_

"Fū is too controllable, too dangerous to let live." Ike answered with a hard look in his eyes, "I have tried to be patient with her. I have spared her after countless assaults on Takigakure no Sato... only for her to attack again." He clenched his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white, "No more. For the sake of Takigakure no Sato, she must die."

"No one has the right to control another person!" The blonde-haired shinobi shouted, fed up with the bullshit that Ike was saying. "And I won't let you kill her because she isn't some loyal dog that follows your every order!" He pointed back to her, causing Fū to startle. "I don't see a monster there! I see a girl that lashed back against the people that tormented her! Who tried to _kill_ her! And I'm not about to stand aside and watch you finish the job."

"Neither will I."

"... Count me in with them."

Fū felt her eyes burn with the familar sensation of tears. She just couldn't understand it! Why were these complete strangers, who she tried to kill, now _defending_ her? Stopping Ike and his men from coming after her to finish the job? "I don't see a monster there"... he didn't see her as some sort of monster.

_"Of course he does! Everyone thinks you are a monster!"_ The Nanabi hissed.

Fū shook her head as tears began to cascade down her face, _'You're wrong, Nanabi... I don't know why... but these three... they are... protecting me from Ike...'_ She glanced up through watery eyes to look at the blonde. _'... _He_ doesn't think I'm a monster...'_

_"... He lies..."_

"I gave you a warning and you ignored it." Ike began dangerously. "I gave you a choice and you chose _wrong_. Now prepare to face the consequences."

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Takigakure-Ryū: Hyaku dātsu (Village Hidden in a Waterfall Style: Hundred Darts): Aftering using the Takigakure-Ryū: Mizukiri no Yaiba (Village Hidden in a Waterfall Style: Watercutting Sword), the user can use this jutsu to fire off the ends of the sword as darts. They were able to pierce a chakra cloak and wound Fū, but the true strength of this technique is unknown, as Fū's and the Nanabi's chakra were being suppressed by Yamato's Mokuton. Hiden. Long-Range. Offensive.

2. Mokuton: Jubaku Eisō (Wood Release: Tree Bind Flourishing Burial): A technique that allows Yamato to create a dense network of roots and branches that greatly resemble a tree. After capturing a target, the branches bring him/her into the "tree". To finish it off, Yamato can decide to sink the tree into the ground and kill those inside it. B-Rank. Mid-Range. Offensive.

3. Hyōton: Yume o minai sekai (Ice Release: Dreamless World): An advanced form of Fuki's Hyōton: Nemui no Jutsu (Ice Release: Sleepy Technique). It causes snow to descend from the sky after an inital pulse of chakra that makes those caught within it drowsy. The more snow that falls onto the victims of the technique, the more they fell drowsy. Enough snow will be able to knock even experienced shinobi unconscious, despite their attempts to resist it. B-Rank. Mid-Range. Offensive.

4. Kiton: Fūha (Gas Release: Wind Wave): A technique where Naruto spews a literal wave of white-tinted gas out of his mouth at an enemy. It was designed to blow enemies away to get some "breathing room" between enemies. C-Rank. Mid to Long-Range. Offensive.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:**

* * *

Chash123: Well, that's the end of Gas: VII... I hope that you guys enjoyed it. I tried to add in some more detail and make up for the mistake that happened last chapter of this ficlet (what was I thinking when I wrote _that_?)... so I hope you like it. Also, awww, Fū-chan has realized that Naruto isn't trying to kill her~! Horray~!

Fuki: I'm just glad that she isn't Ms. Psycho anymore. *Glares* And _why_ haven't you added more detail or tried to explain the concept of Ningenjutsu? Of which I was the first, known, person to have developed techniques for?

Chash123: *Backs away* Uhh... I haven't had the oppurtunity to write about it... because you are in the middle of battle?

Naruto: *Snickers* That's such a lame excuse.

Fuki: When this idiot next decides to update this "Idea Bin" with one of our Gas ficlets... watch out! Ike is going to try and kill us, we have a emotionally unstable girl behind us, and Yamato-sensei is confused over what to do. Will the combined might of Ice/Snow, Gas, and Fire be able to defeat the might of Takigakure's famed "Hardened Water" master? Stay tuned~!

Chash123: Fuki... COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD! COLD! *Runs out of the room, covered in snow, as Fuki begins to chase after him* I HATE SNOW BALLS! COOOLLLLDDDDDD! DAMMNIT, IT'S NOT EVEN WINTER YET!


	13. An Unknown Possibility:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to the _Naruto_ or _One Piece _franchises.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

An Unknown Possibility:

* * *

At the moment, Arlong Park—the Arlong Pirates' base of operations—was under attack. Numerous members of the Arlong Pirates had already fallen to the attack and, despite everything they were doing to prevent it, more men continued to fall. It was almost silly, really, that anyone in the East Blue could challenge them, let alone on their home turf. Yet, someone _had_ challenged them on their home turf and they were _losing_.

What made this situation even more unreal was that they were losing to _one_ person. A woman, at that.

The woman herself was fairly tall and curvaceous with a large bust. She had green hair tied in a bun on top of her head two long strands of orange-colored hair framing each side of her face. She was wearing sleeveless, backless top and short tight pants, with two lapels on the front and the back. She also had an obi around her waist, purple arm-warmers which extend up to her shoulders, and bandages around her tights and ankles.

This woman was not only beautiful, but very dangerous. She seemed to have eaten a type of Akuma no Mi that allowed him to create white orbs that were radiating red flames. When these fireballs hit or passed through anyone, it caused them to become mummified corpses as steam rose from their bodies. Appropriate, considering the name of the technique she was using: "Shakuton: Kajōsatsu."

As another of their "brothers" fell to the woman, "Rokutōryū no Hachi" Hatchan made his move. He quickly deflected one of the woman's fireballs with two of his swords, both saving the original target of the attack as well as alerting the woman to his presence. "You, woman, have made a grave mistake in coming here."

"... A mistake?" The woman's eyes narrowed even as she called her fireballs to her side, which began to rotate around her. "You think I came here because of a "mistake"...? No, I came here—! Shakuton: Sokusha (Scorch Release: Rapid Fire Technique)."

The woman's flaming orbs shot towards Hatchan even as she created more and sent them hurtling towards him. These orbs clashed in mid-air with the stream of black ink that Hatchan was spewing from his mouth. An enormous amount of steam was created as the two forces fought for supremacy, though neither seemed able to overwhelm the other.

Hatchan's eyes grew wide when the woman suddenly appeared before him, bringing down a strange dagger-like weapon towards his head. He instantly stopped firing his ink and, at the same time, swung two of his six swords towards the woman. She twisted so that she could _land_ on the blunt edge of one before she jumped into the air, missing the second sword by a couple of inches.

_'She's good...'_ Hatchan thought before his eyes widened. He quickly brought all six of his swords out in front of him, their tips touching, in a circular array. "Takoashi no Kamae (Octopus Foot Stance)!"

One second later, three of the woman's flaming orbs crashed Hatchan's defense. Hatchan sweated a bit at the _heat_ he could feel coming off the orbs, thankful that he had been able to predict the woman's attack. If he hadn't, then he'd be up for sale as "Fried Hatchan".

"You seem more capable than the rest of these monsters." The woman observed as she landed, causing Hatchan to scowl. "You don't like that moniker? Well... what do you lot call people who have enslaved and terrorized a village for countless years?"

"I call them Humans! Takoashi no Urame (Octopus Foot Backfire)!" Hatchan growled, splaying his swords apart. This caused the fireballs trying to break through, or burn through, his defense zoom back to the woman at a rapid speed. Let her get a taste of her _own_ medicine!

"Definitely a notch above the rest."

The woman sent forward two orbs to cancel out the two rushing towards her. She then bent backwards as Hatchan fired another stream of ink at her. It was impressive to the onlookers as her chin was only an inch away from the ink stream, almost touching it. The woman's eyes narrowed, unseen, before she bent even further downwards. Her palms touched the ground before she twisted around and then rolled out from underneath the ink stream.

There was no hesitation as the woman got to her knees and rushed towards Hatchan. A flick of the wrists and a poof of smoke later had two of those dagger-like knives in each of the woman's hands. She used these to clash against Hatchan's six swords, blocking three swords with each knife. "... but still not good enough."

_'... What?!'_

"Shakuton: Chōeki (Scorch Release: Imprisonment)." The woman said as she jumped backwards. At the same time, four fireballs floated down from above Hatchan and surrounded him. This left him standing, eyes wide and sweating, within a "box" of her fireballs.

"Hatchan!" The Octopus Fishman's "brothers" cried out in concern.

"You made your first mistake when you all agreed to follow Arlong in his mad quest for power. Your second mistake was to enslave a village full of innocent people and children who had done nothing to you. Your third was to take a little girl into your ranks and give her a dream to free her village if she acquired a ludicrous amount of Beli even when you had no intention of doing so."

Hatchan's eyes narrowed into slits, "What gives you Humans the right to imprison and enslave us Fishmen? To brand us and sell us off to the highest bidder?! To look down on us just because we're different than you "ordinary" humans?!"

"No one did." The woman responded with a slight tilt of her head. "But, then again, no one gave you the right to do what you did. And when you involved children... _especially_ the children that saved my life and nursed me back to full strength... then you and I have a problem."

_This_ was the person that they had gotten seemingly false reports about? The one that was reported to have been fished out of the sea by that one, blue-haired girl? This was that person that, according to a thorough search of the village and its surrounding areas, "didn't exist"?

The woman raised her arms into the air before an unresisting audience. Multiple fireballs came into being around her and then flew upwards and combined together. Soon enough, there was a small ship-sized fireball floating above the woman's hands. "Farewell. Shakuton: Furea o Shōkyaku no Jutsu (Scorch Release: Incinerating Flare Technique)."

With that said, the woman's gigantic orb exploded. No one had any time to run away, or scream about what was happening, before they were incinerated. This was followed by everything above ground-level in Arlong Park being caught within the woman's technique and was, mostly, incinerated as well.

To think, she, "Shakuton no Pakura" and the former "Sunagakure no Eiyū", would be doing this all because of one little girl. As Pakura walked out from the broken remains of Arlong Park, she saw that same little girl a little over 100 meters away. There were tears in the girl's eyes as she stared at her in wonder and wonder before she rushed forward.

Pakura thought it was all worth it, however, when that little girl was sobbing into her shirt. "T-Thank y-you, s-s-so m-much!"

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Shakuton: Kajōsatsu (Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder): The user creates several flaming orbs that resemble small suns. These orbs rotate around the user and can be freely controlled to attack enemies. When an orb touches an opponent, it apparently evaporates all the water inside their body, leaving them in a mummified state.

2. Shakuton: Sokusha (Scorch Release: Rapid Fire Technique): A variation of the Shakuton: Kajōsatsu. The user creates and then fires a rapid stream of flaming orbs towards a target. Like Shakuton: Kajōsatsu, when an orb touches an opponent, it evaporates all the water inside their body.

3. Takoashi no Kamae (Octopus Foot Stance): Hatchan points all his swords together out in front of him with their back edges all pointed to each other and arranged in a circular array over his chest to block an attack.

4. Takoashi no Urame (Octopus Foot Backfire): After catching an attack with his Takoashi no Kame, Hatchan can return the attack by splaying his swords apart. The speed at which it travels can catch those unaware off-guards though, if the enemy is expecting it, they _can_ dodge.

5. Shakuton: Chōeki (Scorch Release: Imprisonment): A technique in which Pakura creates four flaming orbs above an opponent while in close-range to them. As soon as Pakura disengages, she sends the fireballs downward, trapping her opponent within a "box" of flaming orbs. If the opponent moves at all, they will touch a "corner" of the "box" and have all the water in their body evaporated.

6. Shakuton: Furea o Shōkyaku no Jutsu (Scorch Release: Incinerating Flare Technique): Pakura combines several of her flaming orbs to create a single massive one, which then violently explodes with enough force and power to incinerate a large area around it.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note: **A one-shot based on Thanatos' A New World challenge:

"One, and only one Naruto-character of your choice lands in the world of One Piece. The only conditions: it can't be Naruto, and no yaoi. How the character lands there, and what he or she will do is all up to you. The character can make a name for him- or herself, join a pirate-crew, become a marine, or pull the strings from the background, if he stays single, gets a mate or a harem, if he eats a fruit or relies on his own innate skills, but he should still have his chakra. If you're interested, please send me a message so I can enjoy the stories, and give you credit."

In this, I chose to send Pakura to the One Piece world during what would have been her death. Nojiko found her in the surf and fished her and taking her to a place where she could get medical attention. By the time that the Arlong Pirates became aware of her and began a thorough search for her, Pakura had been moved into a secret underground bunker underneath the tangerine grove.

As for Arlong, well... Pakura is a kunoichi. She had the element of surprise in which no one knew of her and the skills to infiltrate Arlong Park without anyone noticing. A single Shakuton fireball to the chest when Arlong was sleeping ended him. Five minutes later, Pakura appeared at the front of Arlong Park and started her attack.


	14. Once Again (Different Servants):

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Once Again (Different Servants):

* * *

Kirei Kotomine could be considered "disturbed". People would consider him twisted, since he only understood and felt remotely "whole" when he watched the misfortune of others. This had disturbed him as he had been raised as a devout but nothing he did seemed to make him happy. He had learned and mastered many different skills to the level of people calling him a "prodigy" but none of them had ever satisfied.

Once, he had thought that a woman might make him feel happy, and had married. He had even had a child with her. But, still, he had felt nothing. In fact, a couple years into his marriage he had confessed to his wife. His concerns, his worries... everything, really. This had somehow convinced her to commit suicide while leaving behind a note that said she hoped her death would show him he could feel compassion for others.

Instead, it had made him wish he could've killed her himself.

Alarmed and troubled, he had sent his daughter away to his wife's relatives. Even though he didn't care for the child, he didn't want to hurt her. If she had remained... he feared for himself and what he might've done.

That begged the question of why he had been chosen as a Master for the upcoming Holy Grail War. He had no desire for the Holy Grail or any wish to possess it. So, _why_? Why had it chosen him to compete in the war? It wouldn't help him understand why he felt the way he did. It wouldn't make him understand how he could feel "whole". It wouldn't make him any happier.

Despite these questions, however, Kirei was still going to enter the war. His father, Risei Kotomine, had entered into a pact with Tokiomi Tohshaka so that they could get the Holy Grail. As part of that pact, Tokiomi had trained him in Magecraft for three years. At the end of that period, he had made his "break up" with Tokiomi as public as possible before "storming off". This would convince the other Masters that they weren't working together which, in reality, they would be,

At the moment, he was inside an abandoned warehouse, having just completed the ritual to summon his Servant, Assassin. Tokiomi had provided him with the mask of Hassan-i-Sabbah, or the "Old Man of the Mountain", as his catalyst to summon that particular Assassin.

The smoke finally cleared and allowed Kirei to look at his Servant. _Wait_... that wasn't Hassan-i-Sabbah was supposed to look like. Hassan-i-Sabbah was supposed to be tall, clothed in black cloth, and have his face covered with a white mask.

Hassan-i-Sabbah was not supposed to look like a teenager with shaggy black hair and an olive skin tone. He was not supposed to be wearing an American-looking aviator's jacket, a black shirt with a Jolly Rodger on it, black jeans, and black-white sneakers. The only reason that Kirei could even assume that he was a Servant was the small, silver dagger-like sword attached to to his belt and the aura of _power_ he had.

"I am the Servant, Assassin." The Servant—Assassin—began to say, assessing him with black-colored eyes. "Are you my Master?"

"... Yes."

* * *

Archer looked like a bespectacled teenager of average height. He had straight, chin-length raven-colored hair that framed both sides of his face, pale white skin, and blue eyes. He was wearing a form-fitting, high-collared tunic with blue trim, white pants, and white shoes.

_'... He is not Gilgamesh.'_ Tokiomi Tohsaka thought.

When Kirei had reported in with his unexpected Servant, Tokiomi hadn't taken it as the warning it was meant to be. He had thought that the catalyst must've belonged to the Heroic Spirit that Kirei had summoned or that the Grail had ignored the catalyst. The point was, though, he had believed that he would still be able to summon Gilgamesh with the skin of the first snake.

Now, however, Tokiomi was regretting not taking Kirei's Servant as the sign that he was. He had not summoned his intended Servant and had been left with this teenager. Still, if he had summoned it, it must mean that the teenager, Archer, _was_ a Heroic Spirit.

"You are my Master?" Archer asked.

Tokiomi nodded, "It appears that I am."

This certainly changed things.

* * *

"Who are you and what have you done with Diarmuid?!" Kayneth Archibald demanded of his supposed "Servant".

After his brat of a former student had stolen his first catalyst, a part of the legendary Alexander the Great's cape, Kayneth had brought out his "backup" catalyst. The remnants of the mystical swords Moralltach and Beagalltach he had used were supposed to have summoned Diarmuid Ua Dauibhne, or Diarmuid of the Love Spot. So why did he end up with this... this _woman_?!

The woman in question had curly, back-length orange hair and dark-blue eyes. She was wearing little else except a striped green-white bikini top, a pair of blue jeans, and black sandals. On one of her shoulders was some kind of tatoo that looked like a stylized "X". To finish it off, the woman, Lancer, was pointing the end of a long blue staff at her supposed "Master".

"I don't like the way you are talking to me so why should I answer you?!" Lancer questioned with an angry vein popping out on her forehead, "All I know is that you summoned me, dickwad, so that means that you are my Master..." The tip of a small, cloud-filled bubble poked out of the end of her staff. "But I'm sure _she_ would make a good Master, too."

Kayneth angrily held his tongue. He knew that, if he spoke now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from releasing the multitude of thing he wanted to say to Lancer. If he did that, then Lancer would undoubtably do whatever she was threatening to do him. And, as he knew naught of Lancer's true identity, he could only imagine what that action involved.

"My sincerest apologizes, Lancer." Sola-Ui said as she got between Kayneth and the irate Servant before bowing. "Lord El-Melloi is just upset because a former student of his stole his original summoning catalyst and someone seems to have tampered with his backup one. He does not mean to anger you, but, as a Master in the upcoming War... he is very stressed."

Lancer looked at Sola-Ui for a moment. She then turned away with a sigh and lowered her staff, "I guess I can understand that. I hate it when somebody steals from me. And I can be a bit of a pain when I find out about it."

* * *

Kariya Matou was staring at his Servant, Berserker, with a confused expression on his face. He didn't know what he had expected when that horrible old man had given him a summoning catalyst and told him to add two lines, but it certainly wasn't this.

"You okay, dude?" Berserker asked, concerned. He was a green-skinned teenager with short and messy dark-green hair and a single fang sticking out from his lower lip. He was wearing a black-and-purple jumpsuit with a silver belt, gloves, and shoes. Definitely _not_ what a Berserker was supposed to look like. "Duude?"

"Huh?"

Berserker threw his hands into the air, "I was _trying_ to get your attention but _nooo! _You just go into la-la land and ignore me!" He then turned away from Kariya and muttered something that suspicously sounded like "Nevermore" before he picked up his speed.

"N-No! Berserker! I was just thinking!"

* * *

Waver Velvet fell back onto his but as smoke billowed out from his recently created summoning array. Ever since he had discovered the existence of the Holy Grail War, and having taken his teacher's summoning catalyst, he was ecstatic.

This Holy Grail War would be the perfect place to show those snobs back at the Clock Tower that they were wrong. Who cared if you weren't apart of a Magus family that had existed for hundreds of years? A Magus born from a first generation Magus family, or an ordinary family, could just be as great as those from those higher generation families! In this war, he was going to prove that. And, by doing that, he would finally get the recognition he deserved.

Waver frowned as, instead of a man, a woman stepped out from the smoke. The woman in question had long, auburn-colored hair, blue eyes, and pale white skin. She was wearing a short red dress with ruffled edges, a pair of white bunny ears sticking out of her head, and her legs were encased in a silver armor.

To say the least, Waver almost passed out from blood loss at the first sight of the woman. _'S-She's... beautiful!'_

"I am Rider." The woman placed a hand to her chest before she tilted her head to the side. "Are you my Master?"

"Y-Yes... Yes I am." Waver managed to choke out. Forgive him for sounding so weak in front of his Servant, but he was still dealing with the fact that his Servant was a beautiful young woman. And the way she had said "Master" made shivers go down his spine, making him wonder if she had done it on purpose.

Rider beamed, "Yay~!" She rushed over to him faster than he could blink and enveloped him in a tight hug. "I knew it couldn't have been anyone besides you, but... Master?" She looked down towards her Master, seeing the blood coming from his nose and the whites of his eyes. "Master?! Are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah..."

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** A prelude of sorts based on The Infamous Man's **Fate: Zero Sense**. Can you guys guess where they all come from?


	15. Calm Before The Storm:

Disclaimer: I don't really own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

_'Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Calm Before The Storm:

* * *

Rider was sitting down in the MacKenzie family's living room, reading a copy of today's newspaper that Waver had acquired for her. She had been confused as to how her Master was related to Mr. Mackenzie and his wife, as their seemed to be no family resemblance, but waved it off. Waver probably looked like more like another relative instead of his grandparents.

"It might make him angry if I bring it up..." Rider murmured as she continued to look through the paper. She had wanted it to catch up on the local new, and hopefully find out if anything unusual was happening, as that could mean the work of an enemy Servant. "Hm? What's this...?"

Rider's eyes began to narrow as she read the article of Fuyuki City's newest serial killer. The police had no clue as to who was committing these murders, only the evidence left behind. This murderer had killed three families already and then used their blood to make a "strange-looking pentagram". It could be the work of a normal person but it was more probable that a Master was responsible for this.

_'But why?'_ Rider thought, lowering the newspaper to her lap and frowning. "Why would a Master do that...?"

"A Master? What are you talking about, Rider?" Her Master asked as he walked into the room, looking mildly flustered. Was he still sick? He had told her, after she had waken him up from his fainting spell, that he was just tired. "Rider?"

Rider merely handed her Master the paper as he sat down beside her and said, "Read this, Master."

As her Master read through the article, Rider noticed how his grip tightened until his knuckles were bone-white. It was obvious that her Master was getting upset at this. And why wouldn't he? While blood could help empower a summoning ritual, it wasn't needed to summon a Servant. Especially in such volumes of blood that the paper didn't mention but, judging by the size of the pentagrams, were used.

It meant that the Master responsible _wanted_ to kill all these people.

* * *

"Uh-uh! No way, dude, no _way_!" Beserker said before he pointed to where Kariya was laying down on a moldy-looking mattress. "No way are we staying in a dump like this! I refuse!"

Kariya rolled over, trying to get more comfortable. "I have nowhere else to go, Berserker. I refuse to stay in the same place as _that man _and my landlord wouldn't recognize me." He sighed, "I don't know how to do hypnotism either, so I can't hypnotize somebody in letting me stay with them either..."

"So? Dude, we could get a room at a nearby hotel or something! One with a nice bed, a TV, room service, and... _video games_." The last word was said almost reverently by Berserker. "And what do you have against that old man anyway, dude? Sure he is old and wears those weird robe-like thingies... and is kind creepy... I mean, did you see how he looked at me?! Like I was meat! Well, I can morph into meat... but that's not the point!

Kariya sighed. Trust him to summon a Servant that seemed to have an unhealthy interest in video games and a short attention span. Why had he summoned this one? And why wouldn't Berserker just leave him alone? He had no wish to talk about Zouken or the Matou family. He just wanted to _sleep_.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Beserker demanded. His eyebrow twitched when he heard Kariya snore before his ears drooped, "Not even Raven fell asleep when I talked to her..." He paused, staring out the opened ally, eyes clouding over slightly. "Raven..."

Oh, how he wished that day had turned out differently. Kariya snored and Berserker's eyes cleared slightly. Yes... he had a chance to fix things. If he and Kariya got the Holy Grail, he could go back. He could stop the events from that day from ever happening. Maybe then he wouldn't be feeling so guilty inside.

* * *

Uryuu Ryuunosuke was currently mumbling the instructions of his ancestor's book to himself as he painted a symbol onto the floor with his bare feet. "Fill, fill, fill'er up, fill…. Repeat four times…" He paused to look back at the book with a confused expression, "Or was it five?"

"Um, destroy each when filled. Fill, fill, fill, fill, fill… Yes! Exactly five times! Okay!" He paused as he heard the TV play its report about the three other families he had killed and a warning to the public to "be alert and stay safe". Heh. "... maybe I had a little to much fun?"

Uryuu shut off the TV. He had no worries about the police or even if they would catch him. While he had fun with each killing, he made sure to be extra careful in cleaning up after himself. He had no want or need to be caught because he had left a stray fingerprint or something that the police could link to him. If he did, the police would find him and spoil his fun.

He heard a whimpering noise and looked to see the youngest, scared shitless son of the two headless corpses still hogtied right where he left him.

"Do you think demons exist?" Uryuu began with a thoughtful expression. "The news keeps calling me a demon, but I think that's a little rude if demons actually do exist, don't you think so?" He walked in front of the kid, whose eyes widened with each step. He kneeled down, "Sup! I am Uryuu Ryuunosuke, and I'm a demon! But I don't know if that's how I should be introducing myself…"

Uryuu then waved his ancestors' notes at the kid. "You know, I found this old book while digging around my storehouse! It looks like my ancestors were trying to summon demons. So like, I gotta see if demons actually do exist!" The kid started crying. "But if one actually does pop out, I'd have to be pretty dumb to not offer it something. So kid…" He then patted the boy's shivering head and asked, "If a demon actually comes, do you mind if we let it kill you?"

The kid screamed into his gags and began thrashing around in a desperate attempt to get free. Uryuu laughed at the kid's expression, which only made the kid scream harder and thrash harder. Oh, this was priceless!

"I wonder what it would be li—Ow!" Uryuu began to say, only to grimace when it felt like someone had just set his hand on fire. He looked down at the offending appendage, only to see three red, scythe-like markings slowly burn themselves onto the back of his hand. His circle glowed red and started to billow out smoke. "Wha?"

A figure slowly walked out of the smoke, surprising Uryuu. It was a woman with long, untamed pink hair, brown eyes, and white skin. She wore a black hat with bandaged sides, a tan tunic, black shorts, and black sandals. She sneered, "Are you my shitty "Master?""

"Um…" Uryuu began, rubbing the back of his head. He honestly hadn't expected this… "I'm Uryuu Ryuunosuke. I'm unemployed and I like killing people pretty much. Especially women and children."

The woman's sneer grew to resemble a light grimace, "Keep your personal preferences to yourself, shithead." There was a pause as the woman glared at him, as if waiting for a comeback, only to scoff when none came. "So I got a weak-willed shithead as a Master, huh? At least I was summoned as Caster..."

"Okay…" Uryuu drawled out. Honestly, he didn't get much of what the woman was trying to say. There was a moment of silence before he pointed to the surprised-looking kid who had stopped struggling in the wake of watching the woman, Caster, appear. "Hey, you wanna kill this kid?"

The kid's eyes bulged as Caster turned to look at him. She slowly withdrew a silver flute from one of her sleeves, put it to her lips, and then closed her eyes as she began to play. Uryuu was dissapointed at this—having expected something more _fun_—until the kid began to scream. He looked on as the kid's screaming got louder and louder before blood began to pour from his ears.

"Wha?"

Caster finished on a high note that made the kid scream as if he was being impaled before he fell mercifully quiet. She then lowered the flute from her mouth as Uryuu rushed over to her, a slight bush on his cheeks. What the _hell_?

"That was really cool~! I didn't understand it at first but then I did! You used—" Uryuu began.

Uryuu never got to finish his question as Caster had began to play her flute again. He found himself getting more and more sleepy as time went on. By the time that Uryuu realized what was going on, his vision had blurred until Caster looked like a pinkish-tan blob. She was saying something, too, but he couldn't hear it.

"I can tell that you aren't a Magus, so you won't be that good of a Master too me. Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you. I'm going to keep you somewhere safe until this war is over and I get my wish. But, for now... _sleep_."

* * *

"The final Servant has been summoned." Kirei stated to seemingly no-one. "It is time."

Assassin emerged from the shadows with his usual bored expression. "Really? I never would have thought..." He mocked lightly before he turned away from his Master. "Don't say anything. I know what I'm supposed to do."

"Good."

One of Assassin's eyes twitched before he shook his head. It wasn't worth it. He then stepped back into the shadows and began running. Unlike the first times he had done it, Shadow Traveling no longer exhausted him. In fact, it was kind of _relaxing_ now. When he had told the others about that, they had looked at him as if he was insane, which he just might be. Who knew how much of himself had shattered during his imprisonment.

Assassin emerged from a shadow within the Toshaka Manor's courtyard and began to weave around the Toshaka Family's Bounded Fields. He could have just used his control over shadows to lash out at the visible sources of the Bounded Fields, but he wanted to test himself a bit. Besides, he didn't want to use any of his power yet; the Toshaka's Servant would probably detect him and come to try and eliminate him.

Reaching the first jewel, Assassin unsheathed his dagger and stabbed it. The energy from within the jewel was absorbed into his weapon in mere seconds, which made him smile slightly. He then slithered to the next jewel's pedestal and repeated the process. And then again for the third jewel.

_'One left..._' Assassin thought as he stared at the final jewel. That jewel was the main jewel that was holding up the Tohshaka Manor's Bounded Fields; when he took that out, all of the remaining Bounded Fields would fall. _'Now. Σκιές του υποκόσμου.'_

Shadows surged outward from his dagger as it grew in length. Soon enough, it resembled a pitch-black long-sword that reflected no light. Assassin pointed his sword at the jewel and shadows gathered at the tip.

"φωτι—"

Before Assassin could finish his command, a light blue arrow pierced the hand that was holding his sword. Assassin hissed in pain as he was forced to drop his sword. He twisted around to face his sudden attacker, ignoring the blood that was coming out of his newest wound. It would heal soon enough, anyway.

It was a teenage male with straight, chin-length raven-colored hair that framed both sides of his face, pale white skin, and blue eyes. He was wearing a form-fitting, high-collared tunic with blue trim, white pants, and white shoes. In the teenager's hands was a bow made out of bluish-white energy with a bluish-white arrow nocked and ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Archer." Assassin said.

In response, Archer began to release a series of arrows towards Assassin. The speed at which they travelled made Assassin's eyes widen before he dropped to the floor. He rolled to the side to avoid decapitation, grabbed his dagger, and got onto his feet. He jumped upwards towards Archer, absorbing an arrow, and deflecting another. _'Just a little more and—'_

"Licht Regen." A virtual hail of arrows escaped from Archer's bow and flew towards Assassin. While Assassin was able to absorb and deflect a couple of them, he was in over his head. Arrows began impacting Assassin's body at a rapid speed, the amount of arrows practically _doubling_ with each second that passed.

Finally, Assassin was pushed back and was propelled towards the ground. Archer's arrows continued to pelt his body, giving the other Servant no chance of reprieve, until ten seconds later. Archer looked down at the mess that was once Assassin and pushed up his glasses.

"I applaud you for your skill in Presence Concealment... but the moment you used your own energy to prepare to destroy the last jewel was your first mistake" Archer said with a disinterested, even bored, expression on his face. "Your second was charging forward and try to attack me instead of retreating."

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note**: Well, that's the end of this chapter. Hope you guys liked it~!


	16. Heroes, Assemble:

Disclaimer: I don't really own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

_'Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Heroes, Assemble:

* * *

At the moment, one would find Tokiomi overlooking his courtyard with a pleased expression on his face. Before, he had some doubts as if the plan would work out, considering the unexpected Servants that he and young Kirei had summoned. Those fears turned out unfounded as everything had gone perfectly. What was more was the fact that only a small part of his courtyard had been destroyed.

"I believe it was unwise to leave Assassin alive."

Tokiomi turned around to find Archer leaning against a nearby bookcase, eyes ensconced within a book. It was odd, really. Despite the Holy Grail providing him with everything he needed to know about this era, Archer preferred to read about it. It wasn't that monumental a quirk, as he had more than enough books to supply Archer with, but it was an interesting one.

It was based on this little quirk that Tokiomi believed his Servant to be an intellectual. That belief had been proven through the conservations that he and Archer had since he had summoned him. Still, while interesting to see how intelligent his Servant was, it wasnt that surprising.

"Oh. Why do you think that, Archer?" Tokiomi asked.

"Based on what I observed of Assassin, he was a Hero from Greece. He also has the ability to manipulate shadows to his will—travelling through shadows, using shadows to extend the length of his sword, and seems capable of launching shadows as projectile attacks—which rules out a lot of possible choices." Archer stated calmly.

Tokiomi smiled lightly, "You seemed to have figured him out already, Archer."

"There are only a few Greek "Heroes" that were rumored to have any ability over shadows. Hades, Nyx, Tartarus, Erebos..." Archer closed his book with a snap and looked upward to face Tokiomi, "Nyx was reportedly female, Tartarus is more the Protogenos of nothingness, and Erebos is unknown to most people so he wouldn't have become a Heroic Spirit."

"So you believe him Hades?" Tokiomi asked, slightly impressed. While he had known Archer to be intellectual, he hadn't known Archer to be this observant. Perhaps that was why Archer had requested all of those books? So he could read up on history? _'Come to think of it, that's probably true. Most of those texts I've seen Archer reading _are_ history texts.'_

"I do."

* * *

"Assassin has been taken out."

It had been a couple hours since Rider had informed him of her discovery. Despite how wrong the situation seemed, they both knew that they couldn't do anything about it. They had no clue as to who the Master going around killing people was or what he, or she, looked like. Until they had a clue as to who this Master was, it would be foolish to go around looking for him/he.

Rider—who had been staring at the TV—turned and looked at him with a confused expression, "How could you know that, Master?"

"I sent a mouse familiar out to scout the Toshaka Family's manor." Waver admitted as if it was no big deal. "I thought that the head of the Toshaka Family might have summoned a Servant and it seems that I was right; he summoned Archer."

"So... Archer took out Assassin? How did that happen?" Rider asked.

"I didn't get to see it that clearly but it looked like Assassin was caught trying to take out the Toshaka Manor's Bounded Fields." Waver said with an increasingly relieved expression. "I can't believe it. Not even a full day has passed and already one of the seven Servants has been taken out."

Rider smiled, "That _is_ good news, Master."

And, honestly, they needed some good news. Both of them were unhappy about not being able to much about that Master in the news. They could, at least, take solace in the fact that one Servant had already bitten the dust. It was one less opponent to account for, anyway. Still, something nagged at the back of Rider's mind...

* * *

"My Servant has been lost. I have forfeited my rights as a Master, and cannot continue on in the Holy Grail War." Kirei said as he stood before his father, in front of Fuyuki City's only Christian church. "In accordance with the treaty I, Kotomine Kirei, ask the Church to shelter and protect me."

"Your request is accepted. In my role as judge I, Kotomine Risei, shall guarantee your safety." Risei told him and motioned him to enter.

Kirei nodded his head before stepping into the church. It was a fairly simple church and although the lighting was a bit dark no one would suspect anything out of the ordinary. Especially that this specific church watched over a secret war between magus.

"Father…" Kirei began as Risei closed the doors. "Is anyone watching this church?"

"Of course not." Risei responded in a confident tone. "This place has been declared as a neutral sanctuary. The Holy Church will censure any Master who defies this decree." He began walking further into the church before waving towards a nondescript corner. "Assassin has also told me that he is monitoring the situation."

Kirei looked over and saw, in the shadowed corner, was Assassin. The Servant was in a meditative trance with his eyes closed and his hands clasped together. As Kirei watched, the still unhealed injuries from Assassin's "fight" with Archer began to disappear. By the rate at which he was healing, Kirei judged that it would only take Assassin a couple more minutes before he was done healing.

_'And then we will see if father and Tokiomi's plan can succeed after all...' _

* * *

One of the perks of being a Servant, in Lancer's opinion, was the fact that she didn't seem to require sleep. Sure, she still had the urge to go to sleep, but it was no longer necessary for her. So, while her "Master" and Sola-Ui had gone to bed, Lancer had gone to work.

"... Lancer?"

Lancer looked up from the dining room table she had commandeered for herself. Standing in the doorway was Sola-Ui, looking freshly showered, who was looking at her with a curious expression on her face. "Good morning, Sola-Ui."

"What are you doing?" Sola-Ui asked as she came over.

"I'm just looking through some maps on Fuyuki City and its typical weather conditions." Lancer answered with a shrug, as if it were no big deal. Sola-Ui's eyes widened at the variety of different maps, charts, and complicated-looking notes she would never understand. "... for the War."

"You must be very intelligent if you can do all of this, Lancer." Sola-Ui said, impressed.

Lancer grinned, "Anybody can understand these things if they have a good teacher, Sola-Ui." She paused for a moment, looking at Sola-Ui and her obvious fascination, and nodded to herself. Lancer gestured towards the nearby chair, "If you want to learn about it, I can teach you."

"Really?"

By the time Kayneth exited his bedroom, got ready for the day, and entered the kitchen, Sola-Ui was staring at Lancer like she was a celebrity. He backed up so that the two women wouldn't see them as he observed them. Lancer questioned his wife about how cumulus clouds formed and her answer seemed to pleased Lancer. This repeated until Sola-Ui couldn't answer one of Lancer's questions and was then given a basic explanation that made Sola-Ui's eyes widen with understanding.

Once he had enough, Kayneth entered the room. "As much as this little lesson must be fascinating, you have made a mess of my dining room table, Lancer. Nor have you prepared any of the food that I told you that I would be expecting last night."

"Lord Elloi-Moi—" Sola-Ui began.

Lancer raised a hand to cut her off, "It's okay, Sola-Ui." She stood up from the table and then pulled out a small bag from one of the pockets in her jeans. In an instant, everything that was on the table rose into the air and zoomed towards the open pouch. At the same time, still-steaming dishes flew out of the bag and onto the table. "Happy now, _Master_?"

"How did you do that?" Kayneth demanded to know.

Lancer frowned, "If you must know, _Master_, the you'll have to use a Command Spell." She crossed her arms and readjusted her stance, coming off as a rebellious teenager. "Or maybe, I don't know, be more polite towards me? That it, if you _can_."

"You dare—" Kayneth began.

Lancer's staff suddenly appearing in front of his face shut Kayneth up. "Yes. I "dare". You have been nothing but belittling to me since you summoned me. I will not stand for it! Either shape up or I will find a Master who _does_!"

With that threat, Lancer withdrew her staff and turned on her heel. Before Kayneth or Sola-Ui could stop her, Lancer's body broke apart as she assumed her spirit form. Kayneth glared at the spot where she had been for a couple of moments before he walked over to the dining table. He would punish his stubborn Servant when she returned.

"If you keep pushing it, you'll find yourself without a Sevant, _Kayneth_." Sola-Ui spat before she got up from the table.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kayneth demanded, twisting around in his chair to look at his wife. "Sola-Ui?" His wife didn't hede his call and continued walking towards the door, causing him to get even more frustrated. "Answer me! I know you can hear me, Sola-Ui."

Sola-Ui turned around and actually glared at him, "If you must know, _Kayneth_, I am going out to find Lancer. Enjoy your _breakfast_."

* * *

Kariya slowly woke up to the feeling of a plush, comfortable mattress. He could detect the faint, dissipating smell of cleaning products and a slight musk. He groaned lightly, confused, before he slowly opened his eyes. Where was he?

"You're awake, dude? Awesome!" Berserker's voice rang out before the green-skinned Servant came into view. "Dude, you were out for hours! I had to _carry_ you here and clean everything by _myself_!" Berserker crumbled in on himself, anime-like tears beginning to fall down his face. "So much... _cleaning_..."

"Berserker? I-I don't understand... Where are we?" Kariya asked.

"We're in your apartment, dude! Don't you recognize it?" Berserker gestured around the room and Kariya's eyes followed. He could barely recognize the recently scrubbed walls, his dusted furniture, and various other things he had stored here. It was all so _clean_. "... way I was staying in that alley! And you are sick, so it would've been bad for you to stay there as well, dude."

"... How did you figure out where my apartment was? And how did you get in?"

Berserker looked away, clasped his hands behind his back, and began rocking on his heels. "Well... after you went to sleep, I sorta wentthroughyourclothesandfou ndyourID," He said in a rush. "And then I looked at your address and—"

"Could you repeat that. And more slowly?" Kariya said.

"I, uh, looked... through your clothes and, um, found your ID?" Berserker muttered almost inaudibly, ears burning red with embarrassment. Berserker's ears easily matched Kariya's widened eyes, but not the look of horror that began to appear on Kariya's face.

"You... You—You," Kariya stuttered, unable to respond. And how was he supposed to respond? Beserker had rifled through his clothes, while he was sleeping, and had practically stolen his ID. "... I'm going back to sleep."

* * *

Right now Saber could be found walking two separate crane stacks with her fake Master, Irisviel von Einzbern, following behind her. The two of them had been walking along the river when they had sensed th presence of a Servant. Following it had them both here, which was an obvious attempt for the other Servant to determine their battlefield.

Saber had to admit it was a smart move.

Finally, Saber stopped walking and then motioned for Irisviel to do the same. "I know that you are here, Servant." Saber said loudly, seemingly glaring at nothing. "Cease hiding like an Assassin and come out to face me!"

"I wasn't really hiding..." A calm, feminine voice stated as its owner walked into view. Both Irisviel and Saber got to see that it was a woman with long, curly orange-colored hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a striped blue-white bikini, blue jeans, a strange bracelet, and a pair of comfortable white shoes. In her hand was a long blue staff with a bubble poking out of the tip.

_'Could this be Lancer?'_ Irisviel wondered with a slight tilt of her head.

_'So _indecent_!' _Was the first thought that came to Saber's mind. She couldn't help but stare at the other woman's casual clothing—and lack of upper body covering—with horror. How could a female (Servant) go around looking that that? A male would be practically able to see everything about her.

"Are you just going to keep staring at me?" Lancer asked with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, you're presenting me with more than enough opportunity to strike you both down."

Saber schooled her features into a blank mask. In the next moment, she placed a hand over her covered chest. The black suit that she had been wearing vanished in a flash of light and, in its place, came a blue battle dress an silver armor. She reached onto her back and withdrew Excalibur, safely hidden from sight through Invisible Air. "I thank you for reminding me, Lancer, but don't think doing such will be as easy as you make it seem."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Saber." Lancer said as she twirled her staff down until the tip with the bubble sticking out of it was facing Saber. Both Servants stared at each other for a moment before they rushed forward, Lancer's staff clashing against Saber's sword in a shower of sparks.

* * *

"I'm going to be heading out with Rider!" Waver called out to "his" grandparents as he and Rider made their way towards the front door.

A couple minutes ago, Rider had startled a bit before informing him that she had sensed a massive build-up of prana. He had sent out a couple of mouse familiars to check things out and had struck figurative gold. Two Servants appeared to be fighting on one of the docks. What was more was that it appeared those two Servants were Saber and Lancer.

"Okay! Make sure to not stay out to long with your girlfriend, Waver-kun~!" Martha MacKenzie's voice teased from inside the kitchen. At her statement, Waver's face flushed before an affronted expression appeared on his face. Rider adopted a shocked expression.

_'Girlfriend?'_ Rider wondered.

"I told you guys that Rider was just a friend from school!" Waver said hotly, growing more upset when "his" grandmother laughed at him. "Fine! C'mon, Rider! We don't have to do deal with this."

* * *

_'So, the first battle is about to begin?' _Archer thought as he jumped from building to building, towards the docks.

Tokiomi had ordered him to the docks so that he would be able to discover more about the Servants fighting in this War. And, if they were weakened enough, to take them out while he had the chance. It was a unneccessary order, really, as Archer had already planned on doing that.

As for staying in the shadows? Archer didn't really mind that either. It was good to strike from the shadows, sometimes, so one's enemy wouldn't realize that he or she was there. By the time the enemy figured it out, they would be dead.

Just like—

_'No. Focus. You do not have time to think like that.'_ Archer thought to himself.

* * *

Caster looked up as she felt the passing of a Servant. Looking up, she caught a flash of white jumping from building to building and smirked. She quickly finished draining her newest victim before she jumped off in pursuit of the other Servant.

_'I doubt that you'll be able to resist my melody of death, shit-head.'_ Caster thought. A memory of a black-haired boy in green clothing entered her mind and she snarled, shoving it into the back of her mind. _'I'll kill you... little rat.'_

With all the prana she had been able to stockpile within the last two days, that white-clad pretty-boy wouldn't stand a chance. And if he so happened to lead her to the other Servants, well, she was more than a one-trick pony. She was a venomous, multi-headed snake out for revenge.

* * *

Assassin sat on the edge of a crane overlooking Saber and Lancer's ongoing battle, but not looking at it. Instead, he was looking towards the direction where he could feel three other Servants coming from. _'So, everyone but Berserker is coming?'_

This was an amazing opportunity. With all the other Servants arriving here, he could learn of their skills and, possibly, their true identities. Another probability was him learning the identity of each Servant's Master, like he had Saber. If he could do that and learn of the Servants' true identities, this War would become far easier.

_'For now, though, I should just wait.'_ Assassin thought as he returned his attention back to the ground where Saber and Lancer were fighting. It was slightly disappointing that neither of them had used anything special. _'C'mon, just reveal something about yourselves already!'_

Sadly, as neither of them could see him due to his Presence Concealment, or hear him, his demand went unanswered. He drooped slightly and sighed, hand reaching over for the ring he was wearing. He almost twisted the skull but stopped himself. If he did that now, he would be alerting every Servant within range what he was doing and where he was.

_Damnit_. He needed the stress relief.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** Well, that's the end of _Heroes, Assemble. _Tell me how you guys liked it. As for turning this into a full-fledged fic, what do you guys think? Should I? I mean, I can try to do it... but I wouldn't want to get your hopes up and crush them in case I am unable to try and write a believeable take on the Nasuverse...

On a lighter note, please check out the newest chapter of Amity's Arrancar! I'm sure that you'll like it.


	17. Buki no Tenten:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Naruto.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

_'Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Buki no Tenten:

* * *

(Konohagakure no Sato—Forest of Death—Tower)

At the moment, one would find a number of shinobi from many different villages scattered about a large arena in the Forest of Death's tower. The reason: this was the setting for the end of the Chūnin Exam's second stage and the beginning of the preliminary rounds.

The second stage had consisted of the remaining three-man Genin teams traveling through the Forest of Death to this tower. On the way to the tower, they needed to acquire either a Heaven Scroll or an Earth Scroll to complete the set of scrolls that would allow them to continue on. So, not only had they traveled through five kilometers of the deadliest flora and fauna in Konohagakure and reached the tower, they had also fought to steal another scroll and protect their own.

It was a fitting way to cut down the number of Genin, but it hadn't been enough. There were still too many Genin remaining for the third round of the Chūnin Exams. To correct this, the Hokage and the proctors of the exam had come up with a preliminary round.

The preliminary round would consist of two Genin being selected at random by an electronic board. These two chosen Genin would go down to the arena's battlefield and fight. The winner of that fight would continue on to the third and final round of the Chūnin Exams while the loser would be disqualified. One of the two chosen Genin could forfeit the match if they so wished, as they had just finished the second round, but only one person had done that so far.

The fourth match had just ended, and the unconscious loser taken away by the medics. Almost as one entity, the shinobi looked up towards the electronic scoreboard as it began to spin through the remaining Genin's names. Many young shinobi crossed their fingers and hoped they would be next...

_Tenten Nakamara._

Tenten was girl chocolate-colored eyes, and dark-brown hair done up into two Chinese-style buns on either side of her head and short fringe-bangs falling over her blue forehead protector. She was wearing a blue sleeveless blouse, black pants, and black sandals. On her hip was a bulging pouch full of weapons while, on her left wrist, was a senbon launcher. Upon hearing her name, Tenten perked up.

_Kin Tsuchi._

Kin was a girl with long black hair, almost reaching down to the ground, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and black eyes. She wore a purple forehead protector, a pale green vest similar to a flak jacket, and snake patterned pants and scarf. A basic weapon's pouch was attached to her waist while, attached to her leg, there was an extra pocket of weapons.

Amongst the sighs and groans from those who hadn't been chosen, the two girls glanced at each other. They looked at the appearance of the other—judging how exhausted and injured the other was—and looked at each other's bodies to try and determine how fast or strong the other was. Their eyes zeroed in on the weapons each other sported and wondered just how skilled with weaponry the other was.

"Tenten Nakamara and Kin Tsuchi..." The proctor called from the arena floor, "Please come to the battlefield."

Both girls nodded before they made their way towards the battlefield. Upon getting to it, the girls walked until they were ten feet away from each other with the proctor in the middle of them. The proctor glanced at them for a moment and asked them if they were ready. When they said yes, he nodded to himself before starting the match:

"Hajime!"

As soon as the proctor had finished speaking, both girls went into by jumping backwards from each other. Kin quickly reached down into her weapon's pouch to draw out a fistful of senbon. Looking up to get a bead on Tenten before she threw her senbon, her eyes widened.

Tenten's right arm was changing. As Kin watched, Tenten's skin darkened into a dark brown color even as it began to lengthen. Her fingers slowly melded together as they turned silver before arcing outwards into a bow-like shape. A string formed to connect both sides of the silver "bow" while little pieces of metal emerged from her brown arm. It was then that Kin realized what exactly Tenten's arm had become: a crossbow.

"Buki Henge (Weapon Transformation)." Tenten stated towards her stunned audience.

The moment, however, that Kin heard a "click" did she manage to break the spell that had befallen her. Tenten leveled her crossbow—arm—at her before she unloaded the bolt she had placed in the weapon in Kin's direction. Kin managed to drop to the floor and avoided the bolt that exploded against the floor behind her. Hearing something whistling through the air, she cursed before rolling away.

The ground where she had been exploded in a shower of dust and earthen debris.

_'I shouldn't have allowed myself to be distracted so easily!'_ Kin thought as she dived forward to avoid another volley. She managed to get into a crouching position before Tenten fired at her again, forcing her to throw her senbon at the bolts in an attempt to deflect them. _'I need more time!'_

The senbon pierced through the tip of the bolts and begin to steer them off course for a couple of moments. It didn't last long, however, because the bolts exploded in mid-air. Kin had to shield her eyes from the dust that had been stirred up. This proved very bad for her as Tenten hadn't and was now rushing towards her. As the bun-headed girl was running, both of her arms began to morph as she used her Buki Henge one more time

This time, Tenten's arms turned a dull, reddish-brown color as they lengthened. Her fingers came together and melded into a block-like shape before they began to morph into a sharp, triangular shape. Thin, dark-red lines appeared over her arms to complete the transformation. Now, instead of having one arm as a crossbow, both of Tenten's arms were _whips_.

Kin managed to look up in time as Tenten's right whip—arm—lashed out toward her face. Thinking quickly, she used the Kawarmi no Jutsu to replace herself with a nearby pile of debris. Seconds later, Tenten's whip cut through the debris, sending it all flying in numerous different directions. Through this sudden shower, Tenten looked up at her foe.

"Not bad," The bun-headed girl said before she began to run towards Kin again, "... but you'll have to do better than that!"

When Tenten was only a few feet away, Kin looked up. At the same time, she slammed a trio of senbon needles with bells tied onto them three inches into the floor. The bells rang and released a pulse of chakra that quickly ran over, and attached itself to, Tenten.

"Magen: Kane no Ringu (Demonic Illusion: Ring the Bell)." Kin all-but gloated as Tenten collapsed onto the floor.

In the beginning, Kin had been overwhelmed and hadn't had time to implement her plan against Tenten. She was going to use the Kage Senbon technique in combination with one of her own Genjutsu to disable and slowly torture Tenten until the bun-headed girl had given up. Now, however, that plan didn't matter. Still... she could get her revenge on Tenten with _this_ Genjutsu.

The Magen: Kane no Ringu was one of the Genjutsu Kin had created on her own. It had come to being based on the seemingly paralytic sound-based Genjutsu that one of Orochimaru-sama's four guards was known to have. Unfortunately, Kin didn't have the necessary skill yet to recreate the torture that guard's Genjutsu inflicted on the user: it just paralyzed them.

If she wanted to, though, Kin could manually torture Tenten herself. After being shot at with those crossbow bolts, she was feeling vindictive enough to think about it. The temptation was almost too much to resist, but she was in enemy territory for a "peaceful" chance to become a Chūnin. It wouldn't be that wise to torture one of Konohagakure's shinobi when she was still within Konoha.

"Buki Henge (Weapon Transformation)..."

Kin's eyes widened seconds before a crossbow bolt exploded where her senbon, holding her Magen: Kane no Ring, were slammed into the ground. Even as she felt the Genjutsu collapse, she didn't care. She was too busy staring at Tenten in stunned horror. No one should have been able to move under the hold of her Genjutsu!

"How is that possible?!

Tenten grimaced as she forced herself into an kneeling position, one crossbow-arm aimed at Kin's heart. "I was stupid to have charged at you so recklessly, but you were stupid not to have the proctor end the match while you could have."

Kin scowled. "How did you escape my Genjutsu?"

"I'll admit that it wasn't easy. Still, you forget that Genjutsu can be countered with a pulse of chakra to disrupt the hold the illusion has over a person's mind or by purposely inflicting pain to shock yourself out of the illusion." Tenten stated before raising her now-normal left arm. Most notable on it was the whip-like mark on the shoulder of it. "I did the later." Her eyes narrowed, "Now that I explained that, give up."

Kin's scowl grew in intensity while a seed of fear bloomed in her stomach. If she surrendered now, her teammates would never let her hear the end of it. And by that she meant that they would view her as weak and sabotage her efforts or use her as a scapegoat. Orochimaru-sama wouldn't look on her failure to get into the third round of the exams that well, either. In short, if she surrendered... she was screwed.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how one looked at it, the proctor chose this moment to speak up. "As Kin Tsuchi is no longer able to fight without risk to herself... the winner of this match is Tenten Nakamara."

In the crowd, those remaining Genin from Konohagakure cheered. Tenten smiled at the proctor before she cancelled her jutsu, allowing both of her arms to return to normal. The bolt that had been on her arm was pocketed into her leg pouch as she walked away. Two and a half rounds done and one round to go.

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Buki Henge (Weapon Transformation): A modification of the standard Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu). In this, the user transforms a part of their body into a weapon: a lance, a crossbow, a sword, a shield, a whip, and etc. The only true weakness of this jutsu is that, like the regular Henge no Jutsu, it can be dispersed if it sustains enough damage. C-rank Ninjutsu.

2. Kawarmi no Jutsu (Body Replacement Technique): With this technique, the user is able of replacing themselves with a nearby object. The switch itself can create an optical illusion that can make can enemy think the attack was successful before the user can launch a surprise attack or flee from the battlefield. E-rank Ninjutsu.

3. Magen: Kane no Ringu (Demonic Illusion: Ring the Bell): A technique in which the user slams three bell-tipped senbon into the ground. The bells release a Genjutsu that locks onto the nearest target, paralyzing his/her body upon coming into contact with him/her. The user can then easily end the fight while the enemy is trapped within this Genjutsu or flee. C-rank Genjutsu.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** Just a short one-shot based on the idea of Tenten being able to transform parts of her body into weapons through a modified Henge no Jutsu. And, partially, my own desire to make a one-shot about Tenten passing the preliminaries.


	18. Gas VIII:

**A/N: Author's Note: **After some consideration on the issue, I have decided to retcon _Gas VI_ and _Gas VII_ of my series of Gas Release!Naruto fanficlets. I have decided to do this because I wasn't thinking much at the time and the current state of affairs would make it impossible for me to continue in that fashion without having Team Yamato's actions starting a war between Takigakure no sato and Konohagakure no sato. In addition, with Kishimoto having revealed Fū in the manga, I feel as if my take on her doesn't do her justice.

Team Yamato still escorted Ike back to Takigakure no sato but, instead of being drawn into a battle with Fū, they met Fū and her own team. I will be leaving up _Gas VI_ and _Gas VII_ to display some of Team Yamato's abilities, but I will probably write another version of the chapter.

Thank you for your time.

* * *

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas VIII:

* * *

At the moment, one would find that the Sandaime Hokage was not alone inside his own office. Indeed, scattered about and almost filling the relatively small room were an assortment of Jōnin. Despite the crampt quarters, each Jōnin were waiting patiently for their Hokage to turn his attention and call upon them.

One could say that they had learned not to anger the Sandaime Hokage, especially after "The Incident".

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the process was almost over. Those Jōnin who believed that their Genin squads were skilled and ready enough had informed the Hokage of their decision to enter their squads into the upcoming Chunin Exams. Unlike other times, most of them had submitted their teams, as the exams were to be held in their village, so it would give their students the best chance of advancing. After all, this way, they had the home field advantage.

The only Jōnin that were left were those teaching the newest batch of Genin that had graduated from the academy. It was usually just a matter of formality, as most Jōnin took at least one to two years to train their squads, but this year's crop of graduates were an exceptional bunch. One of those teams had even sparked "The Incident" as every potential sensei for the team had fought for the chance to become the team's sensei.

Who wouldn't have wanted to become the sensei of a child who had invented a new elemental release, a child that had been discovered to hold the Hyōton, and a child that just so happened to be the only survivor of the once famous Uchiha Clan?

"I, Kurenai Yuhi, nominate Team Eight which consists of Hinata Hyuga, Aburame Shino, and Kiba Inuzuka for the Chunin Exams." A woman with stunning red eyes, hip-length black hair, and somewhat pale white skin stated. She was dressed in what appeared to be a dress made of bandages, blue sandals, and a blue hitai-ite wrapped around her forehead.

Several remembered her for the Genjutsu the woman had put them under during "The Incident".

The next person to speak up was a man with lightly tanned skin, spiky black hair, and black eyes. He was dressed in the standard Konoha-Nin uniform along with a small piece of cloth that was a reminder to all that he had once been a part of the Daimyo's Twelve Guardian Ninja. "I, Asuma Sarutobi, hereby nominate Team Nine which consists of Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara for the Chunin Exams."

After Asuma had finished, the last Jōnin stepped forward to give his verdict. He was a man with short and spiky brown hair, black eyes, and pale white skin. He was wearing the standard Konoha-Nin uniform like Asuma but, unlike him, he wore his hitai-ite on a metal plate that extended down the side of his face in a manner similar to the Nidame Hokage.

Everyone leaned forward to hear what this man's choice was, knowing him to be the sensei of the team they all had wanted. "I, Yamato, hereby nominate Team Ten, which consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Fuki Yuki, and Sasuke Uchiha for the Chunin Exams."

"Very well. I will take in your team nominations and have my secretary give you the standard forms." The Sandaime Hokage stated, pointedly ignoring the whispering that had started as his Jōnin talked about their team's chances in the upcoming exams. While annoying, this happened every time nominations for the exams came up. "Now, you may go."

XXXXXX

After having left the Sandaime Hokage's office, Yamato had left to go meet his team in their standard meeting place: Training Grounds #4. He got to there to find all three of his students resting in the middle of the grassy clearing, leaning against each other's backs. The number of fresh, smoldering burn marks scattered throughout the area suggested that they had just finished sparring or practicing a new Konbijutsu.

"Good morning." Yamato greeted as he approached his team. "You three seem to have been working hard."

Naruto nodded absently, "Yeah. We all got your note about how you would be late and decided to see if we could make any progress on our newest Konbijutsu—"

"Don't remind us of it." Sasuke and Fuki muttered, face buried in their hands.

"—as you can see, we haven't made any. It just keeps exploding on us." Naruto finished with an unhappy expression. "It's frustrating. No matter what we try to do, the end result is the same: boom. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boooom!"

"Maybe if you explained it to me, I could help you figure out why you three keep having that problem before you take the Chunin Exams." Yamato offered up with a small smile. The wide-eyed looks, open mouths, and stunned silence only caused his smile to grow.

"Y-You nominated us for the C-Chunin Exams?" Naruto managed to get out.

Yamato nodded. "I believe that this team has the basic skills required of any Chunin."

That wasn't a lie. Sasuke was a child prodigy that had a good grounding in the shinobi arts and a dual affinity for Katon and Raiton Ninjutsu. Fuki was a resilient girl who had started to mesh her kōri-natured chakra with Ninjutsu to produce something she called "Ningenjutsu". Naruto was a strong-willed boy who had used a civilian's understanding to slowly create a new chakra nature and branch of Elemental Ninjutsu.

Together, they had developed two different styles of Konbijutsu. Most people would find it hard for develop even one Konbijutsu in the same time, which proved that Team Ten had developed a strong understanding of each other's abilities and knew how to mesh their abilities together. If that wasn't insane, the three Genin were now attempting to create another branch of Konbijutsu that involved all three of them.

The only issue that Yamato foresaw for his team was that they didn't have that much skill in leading a team. That was a skill necessary for Chunin, as Chunin were able to lead small squads. It was a standard problem, though, as most Genin relied on the Jōnin responsible for the team to lead them.

Yamato was hurriedly brought out of his thoughts when Naruto tackled him. This was quickly followed by Fuki and Sasuke, preventing Yamato from reacting. Why would he though? He wasn't under attack. His students were just hugging him to show their appreciation. Though...

"I never thought you would willingly do this, Sasuke." Yamato teased.

"I didn't." Sasuke grumbled, lying. "Fuki grabbed my arm and dragged me with her."

XXXXXX

In the coming days, Yamato spent the majority of his team making sure that his team was ready for the exams. It was an unnecessary concern, as he _knew_ that his team was ready, but he couldn't help but worry. So, as foreign Genin squads began to drift into the village, he began to drill his own. He drilled his three Genin in Taijutsu, Genjutsu recognition/crafting, stealth, tactics, standard coding, and helped them with their Konbijutsu.

"I believe that each one of you have the potential to become a Chunin." Yamato told them the morning of the exams, glancing at each of his three Genin in turn. "Even so, I expect you not to take unnecessary risks or do anything that could endanger yourselves or your teammates. If you find yourselves engaged with a superior opponent, retreat to a safe distance. If you believe your life in danger, call for help. Remember: no test is worth your lives."

Naruto, Fuki, and Sasuke nodded.

"Finally... I just want you three to do your best." Yamato finished.

Naruto looked up at him and smiled, "Don't worry, Yamato-sensei. We'll make you proud." He looked over at his teammates and smiled, "Right, guys?"

Both Sasuke and Fuki nodded to show their agreement. Sasuke couldn't resist and made a comment about Naruto stating the obvious, almost starting another argument as Naruto rose to the bait. It ended when Fuki got in-between them and scolded them, telling them that they would need to work together for the exams. The two boys looked at each other before turning away, hiding grins as Fuki shook her head.

Yamato smiled, "You guys best be going if you want to take the exams."

Nodding, the three voice identical exclamations of "right" before vanishing through the use of the Shunshin no Jutsu. Yamato stared at the spots where his three students had once stood until the smoke cleared with an oddly tight but warm feeling in his chest. Deeming the feeling to be pride in his students' abilities, he vanished from the field as well.

XXXXXX

After leaving Yamato-sensei, Team Ten quickly moved on to the place where the Chunin Exams were going to be held. It was a bit nostalgic to be at the academy again. The feeling wore off, however, when the arriving foreign Genin noticed Fuki and began to whisper about and point at her. Automatically, Sasuke and Naruto moved to one side of their friend to shield her and began to glare at anyone staring in their direction.

Fuki didn't need their protection, though. While she had originally gotten upset whenever people had pointed at what _that man_ had done to her body, she had slowly grown out of it. Why should she care for the opinions of people who she didn't know when she had people like Naruto, Sasuke, her Otōsan, and her family didn't mind it? When she had people who found them to be "cool" and "awesome"?

It was touching that her teammates had noticed the staring and felt the need to protect her from it. Irritating, but touching nonetheless.

"Let's go." Naruto muttered darkly.

Fuki found herself, for all purposes, frog-marched away from the growing crowd of Genin and into the academy. They quickly got directions to the room in which the exams would be taking place and moved to go up the staircase that led to the second floor. There was an unusually dense crowd of people standing in the hallway, centered around two mean-looking Genin standing in front of a door. A door that was marked as the room for the Chunin Exams.

"The Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu." Fuki stated lowly. It had been almost too easy for her to recognize the technique, considering what she specialized in and with the knowledge that _they were on the second floor, not the third floor. _Naruto and Sasuke looked at her for a moment, so she elaborated. "It's a Genjutsu to make others believe one place is another."

Looks of understanding flashed across their faces. Before they could do anything about the information, however, a team of Konoha Genin approached the two people blocking the door. The kunochi of the team—a brunette with her hair styled in twin buns, brown eyes, a pink blouse, a pair blue pants, and blue sandals—asked if they could be allowed in.

The guards responded in the negative before a boy dressed in a dark-green track suit with a bowl-style haircut attempted, the kunoichi's teammate, tried to force his way inside. He was quickly blocked by one guard while the other moved to punch him, sending the green-wearing shinobi flying as a bruise quickly formed on his cheek. His teammate quickly rushed over to her teammate to make sure that he was okay before turning on the two guards, questioning as to why they couldn't go inside.

The performance was worthy of an award, but... '_Those two belong to the team ran by Might Guy.'_ Team Ten thought. They had seen the team a couple of times around the village, usually running an absurd number of laps to encourage their "flames of youth". There was no way that, after all that, Guy's team would be as weak as they currently appeared. _'What are they playing at?'_

"If you can't even get past us, then there is no way that you runts could become Chunin." One of the guards stated with a smirk.

Sasuke's eyes widened before he quickly pulled his teammates over, thanking kami that no one had noticed them yet. "Those two over there are doing some sort of pre-test to lower the number of contestants." He whispered to his teammates, making them nod with newfound realization.

"Guy's team is probably using it to make it seem as they're not as much of a threat as they really are." Naruto mused as he watched the green-wearing shinobi get up against his teammate's wishes and try to get through the two blocking the door again. "That way, less people will go after them."

"Should we doing something similar?" Fuki asked.

Each of the three Genin looked at each other for a couple of moments, considering the question. Finally, as Guy's two students retreated after another failed attempt, Naruto shook his head. "People are already going to be talking about you, Fuki. They'll probably be thinking of what you can do and how to get rid of us. It'll be no use of us to make ourselves look like more vulnerable by acting weak."

Fuki and Sasuke nodded, accepting Naruto's point. They knew that Naruto could have another, "secret" motivation for not wanting to hide their abilities—to show off and spread knowledge of his Kiton Ninjutsu—but he had made a valid point. And, honestly, neither of them wanted to make themselves look weak in front of everyone. Doing that, they could reduce their own chances of becoming a Chunin as the examiners could think they weren't strong enough to be Chunin. No, it would be better to just show everyone how strong they really are.

"You three must think you're pretty sneaky." The same guard that had punched Guy's green-wearing student said as his partner moved to confront the team. In wasn't out of spite, but merely to prove their strength to the rest of the Genin in the hallway so as to deter them from entering the exams. "News for you: talking in the middle of the hallway isn't stealthy."

To the shock of everyone there, instead of landing a hit on Naruto, the guard merely punched through colored gas. The guard quickly corrected his footing before he could stumble and moved to deliver a powerful kick into Naruto's side. Like last time, however, the limb slipped through Naruto's body like it wasn't even there.

"Do you want to try again?" Naruto asked with a small grin as the colored gas returned to his body and reformed it, leaving him standing there unhurt. Stranger, it looked as if his clothing hadn't even been ruffled by the sudden attacks. "It won't change much, but you can feel free to try and hit me as much as you want to."

_'Oh, great. I should've known that this guy was one of Yamato's brats, considering that he was with the girl...'_ The disguised Chunin thought as he got back into his traditional fighting stance.

If he backed down now, the other Genin would deem him weak and try even harder to get through him and his partner. If he didn't back down, he would have to quickly figure out how to get around the boy's Kiton. Why did he always get himself into these types of situations?

Right when he was about to launch into another bout of useless Taijutsu with the blonde-haired brat, the disguised Chunin felt himself begin to get drowsy. Eyes drooping, he looked around the area for any sign of what was happening. Not finding anything, and too sleepy to realize that he had been caught within a Genjutsu, the man launched himself at Naruto.

The man's world went dark when Naruto's surprisingly solid fist punched him in the face while releasing a small dosage of sleeping gas into his face at the same time. He fell to the floor where his eyes began to close of their own accord, too tired to resist the effects of the gas. Within moments, he was asleep.

"Anyone else want to take us on?" Naruto asked, cracking his knuckles.

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique): A genjutsu that allows one to trick others into mistaking the place that they are in for another place. It can be cast over an extensive surface, meaning that anybody that steps into the illusion's area of effect will fall under its spell. Can be countered or seen through by those who specialize or are well-versed in Genjutsu. C-Rank Genjutsu. Supplementary. All ranges.


	19. Gas IX:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."

'_Someone is thinking.'_

"A technique is being used."

* * *

Gas IX:

* * *

(Konohagakure no Sato—Ninja Academy)

Naruto could be found grinning from ear-to-ear as he walked alongside his teammates as they made towards the staircase that would lead them to the third floor. It was kinda weird that there were multiple staircases, but, then again, it was supposed to be a defensive feature. But no one really cared about that.

"You get enough attention?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto made a thoughtful noise, considering it. "Maybe. I showed a lot of people how powerful my Kiton Ninjutsu could be by taking out that guy... but no one knows that I actually used Kiton since I didn't say which Kiton technique I was using. Should I go back—?"

"No!" Sasuke and Fuki shouted in unison, each of them grabbing onto one of their blonde teammate's arms and forcibly stopping him from going back. Naruto had already wasted enough of their time by showing off and scaring the competition. If Naruto was allowed back now, he would probably go on to lecture them all about his Kiton or start a fight(s) to prove how powerful it really was. And, if that happened, then they would miss out on the exams.

They could only hope that Naruto had forgotten about his Kiton: Henge no Jutsu.

"You, with the robe," A familiar voice called, "will you fight me?"

Sasuke and Fuki released Naruto and lowered their heads, defeated, as Naruto's own expression brightened. He looked around until he saw Guy's green-wearing student standing in the middle of the room they had been about to enter. The green-wearing shinobi's own teammates turned to look at him with weird looks and were about to speak up, until...

"Of course I will. I haven't shown the full extent of my Kiton Ninjutsu yet." Naruto said with a smile, further depressing Sasuke and Fuki. Why? Why couldn't that guy have just moved on? He probably would've gotten a chance to fight Naruto later... "Before we begin, though, I would like to know your name. I am "Kiton no Shinobi" Uzumaki Naruto!"

"I am Rock Lee!" The green-wearing shinobi stated with an enthusiasm that matched Naruto's own.

In the next second, Lee vanished from his position next to his teammates and reappeared only inches away from Naruto's surprised face. Lee's leg kicked at Naruto's stomach, dispersing the colored gas it had become, before twisting around to deliver two powerful kicks through Naruto's lower torso. Seeing that his attacks had no effect, Lee then jumped backwards to land in a crouch.

All of it had happened in the span of eight seconds.

_'So, Guy-sensei and Neji were right. Naruto-kun does possess a Ninjutsu which allows him to transform his body into some form of gas. With it, he practically renders basic Taijutsu useless as the blows will simply pass through and disperse the gas that makes him up.' _Lee thought with a small frown. "That is an interesting jutsu you have there, Naruto-kun."

"You have some nice moves yourself, Lee. It's only too bad that my Kiton: Henge no Jutsu makes most Taijutsu ineffective." Naruto stated before he made a single hand-seal. Following a deep intake of air, Naruto unleashed a dense bullet of gas towards Lee's location. "Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu (Gas Release: Breath of Air Technique)!"

Lee quickly jumped to the side to avoid Naruto's Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu. The technique crashed into the wall behind him and caused it to begin to disperse into the room. In the next few moments, Lee had to quickly avoid a barrage of the techniques while trying to think of ways he could get around Naruto's Kiton: Henge no Jutsu. The problem was that he was good in Taijutsu and Bukijutsu—two fields in which Naruto's jutsu rendered useless—and didn't have much talent in regards to Ninjutsu or Genjutsu.

Furthermore, the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu that he did know would probably be as ineffective as Taijutsu and Bukijutsu. _'You sure have developed an interesting jutsu, Naruto-kun...' _Lee thought as he threw a handful of shuriken towards Naruto, causing Naruto's head and upper torso to disperse into colored gas. _'What can harm gas...?'_

"Nice aim." Naruto complimented as his body came back together. His hand moved down to the pouch inside his robe before he moved to the side to evade another handful of shuriken. The act caused Lee's eyes to narrow, but Naruto didn't notice it. He threw out twin explosive tag-tipped kunai, "But it'll take more than good aim to defeat me!"

With his speed, it was too easy for Lee to dodge the weapons. He felt a bit unfazed at the unchanged look on Naruto's face: why was he still grinning? It was only when he saw Naruto put his hands into another hand-seal and the "mist" of dispersed gas around him that he understood. Naruto had used his attacks to spread his gas around the area. Those kunai were never aimed for him, but to get within range of the cloud that Lee stood in the middle of.

The small explosions caused by the explosive tags ignited Naruto's gas before causing the entire area to become engulfed in another, grander, and far more violent explosion. It scorched and ripped apart the walls, the floor, parts of the ceiling, and caused rooms beyond it to feel as if an earthquake was happening. When it all died down, the room was unrecognizable: small fires littered the blackened ceiling and floor while parts of the wall looked as if they were about to fall down.

A stream of gas emerged from a crack in the floor and slowly formed back into Naruto and a breathless-looking Sasuke and Fuki. Moments before the explosion, Naruto had grabbed them and had used his Kiton: Henge no Jutsu on them before directing them all to the room below. They hadn't even known was happening at the time before it was all over, leaving them to stare at the explosion with unreadable expressions on their faces.

"You recreated one of our Konbijutsu." Sasuke stated.

Naruto nodded, "Yes. Lee was trying to figure out how to get around my Kiton: Henge no Jutsu and his speed made it hard for me to hit him with sleeping gas. So I switched out the sleeping gas I was using for my Kiton: Soyokaze no Jutsu with another gas. I had thought to try and ask you for assistance, but that wouldn't have been fair to Lee. And, while the results aren't as grand as our Konbijutsu, my Kiton: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu did the job."

Before either Sasuke or Fuki could respond to what their teammate had said, a rather large pile of flaming rubble started to shake. Bits of flaming wood and plaster quickly fell off to reveal a burnt turtle shell bigger than anything Team Ten had seen before. This shell was lifted up by the familiar visage of Might Guy, revealing his three students—clothes slightly burnt but fine—kneeling or lying on the unburnt floor behind him.

"Yosh! I see that Yamato-kohai wasn't wrong when it came to how youthful you three are!" Guy stated in a loud voice with a megawatt grin. "I admit that I had some doubts as to the truthfulness of Yamato-kohai's words in regards to you, but I now see that it was I that the one that was wrong. I underestimated you and your abilities, but you showed me the error of my ways by using your powerful flames of youth to defeat my youthful student, Lee."

A head popped out of the turtle shell to stare at Guy incredulously, "Seriously? That blonde tried to catch your students in an explosion that could have very well killed them, had you and I not interfered, and you simply congratulate him?!"

"I admit that his methods were a tad extreme, but he saw that Lee was too fast for him and figured out a plan to defeat him." Guy responded back with a small frown. He was too engaged in with his conversation with his turtle summon to see that Team Ten was leaving, slowly inching backwards. He also didn't see one of his students shaking her head in embarrassment. "If he had not, their youthful spar would've continued on until they missed the Chunin Exams."

"You don't get it! The boy used a jutsu which could have killed Lee! Why can't you see that...!?" The turtle responded back, voice trailing and then cut off as Team Ten exited the room and quickly bolted up the staircase to the next floor.

It was there, at the top of the staircase, that Team Ten came face-to-face with something even more horrifying than what they had left. Yamato-sensei had suddenly appeared in the middle of the hallway and was now giving him his infamous creepy stare. The mere sight of it froze each of them in their positions and made them wonder what they had done to earn it. After all, Yamato-sensei only brought that look out when he meant to show his displeasure with them.

"Sasuke, Fuki, Naruto..." Yamato began to say, ominously, which caused each of his students to shiver and became even paler. If that was even possible. "You three..." He closed his eyes for dramatic effect, opening them as his expression abruptly switched from "creepy" to "normal". "... can proceed!"

"... What?"

"We're... We're not in trouble?"

"Of course you aren't. You would have been, however, if one of you didn't show up to take the Chunin Exams." Yamato said to the confusion of his students. Seeing it, he decided to elaborate. "If one of you had been absent, I would have had to punish the other two and prevent any of you from entering. Not that I thought that I would have to."

"... Since we're not in trouble, we'll be leaving now." Naruto said slowly, as if afraid of angering him. He then turned and walked around Yamato with Sasuke and Fuki, making sure to keep him in his line of vision. He was afraid that Yamato would do something else really weird or confusing and he had enough of that today. "Ignore anyone if they mention an explosion."

"Why? Wait, did you three cause an explosion? The exams haven't even started yet!" Yamato demanded.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke and Fuki before bolting, "Sorry, Yamato-sensei! The exams are going to begin soon! Tell you about it later!"

"Get back here and tell me what happened!"

XXXXXX

(Konohagakure no Sato—Ninja Academy—Room #301)

"So, you're the infamous trio that everyone here has been talking about."

Team Ten looked to see that the speaker was fellow Konoha Genin smiling at them. He had black eyes, silver hair that was styled in a ponytail, and black-framed glasses. He was wearing a high-collared white shirt, a sleeveless purple shirt, purple pants, dark-blue sandals, and a dark-blue hitai-ite around his forehead.

"Oh?" Sasuke asked.

The silver-haired teenager nodded, "Mm-hm. That display on the second floor has made everyone either nervous or excited to battle you." He laughed, "I've even had some of the others asking for any information I have on my Ninja-Info Cards that's about you guys."

"So you specialize in information gathering?" Fuki asked. It was rather easy to figure out, since he had just all-but admitted that he had been gathering information. The thing she couldn't figure out was why that he had revealed this and was handing out information. And why he had deigned to come over here and talk to them after he had done so.

"Yes." The teen removed three cards from his pocket before he began to read, "Fuki Yuki, Genin of Team Ten alongside Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha. You specialize in a combination of Genjutsu and elemental chakra while having average scores in both Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. Based on your unique Genjutsu combination, you were born with Kirigakure's Hyōton Kekkai Genkai."

That was... disturbingly accurate.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Genin of Team Ten alongside Fuki Yuki and Naruto Uzumaki. You were the academy's "Rookie of the Year" for high skills in all basic areas. From sightings around the village, you seem to specialize in Katon Ninjutsu, which is to be expected considering that was the main chakra affinity of the Uchiha Clan." The silver-haired Genin stated.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into slits, fists clenching at his sides.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of Team Ten alongside Sasuke Uchiha and Fuki Yuki. You specialize in a unique branch of Fūton Ninjutsu that you created and named Kiton Ninjutsu. Aside from your Kiton Ninjutsu, you have decent scores in Genjutsu recognition and basic Taijutsu, but nothing extraordinary." The teen paused, "Tell me, are the rumors about you being from the Uzumaki Clan true?"

"... What? What is the Uzumaki Clan?"

The silver-haired teenager adopted a confused expression, "You don't know about the Uzumaki Clan?" He paused for a moment, expecting them to answer, before shaking his head when they didn't. "The Uzumaki Clan were distant cousins of both the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, though more closely related to the Senju Clan. It was because of the familial relations that Uzushiogakure no sato, a hidden village that the Uzumaki Clan founded, became close allies to our village before its destruction."

Uzushiogakure no sato. Unlike the Uzumaki Clan, that was something that Naruto remembered hearing about. It was one of the lesser hidden villages that he had learned about at the academy. Uzushiogakure had been a starch supporter of Konohagakure, known and feared for its shinobis' skill in Fuinjutsu. That skill had earned them unneeded attention during the Third Shinobi World War where several other villages had allied to destroy it.

But... there had been no mention of the Uzumaki Clan.

"... Clan had a special type of chakra that boosted their natural life forces and allowed them to live longer than a non-Uzumaki. The Shodaime Hokage's wife, Mito Uzumaki, was said to have lived into the reign of the Sandaime Hokage." The teenager continued to explain before he paused, "Sorry. I guess I'm just a sucker for telling stories. And it's obvious that you don't know, so..."

Naruto stared at the spot where the teenager had stood, deeply confused. The academy had never taught about the Uzumaki Clan, the fact that an Uzumaki married the Shodaime, or anything his fellow Genin had just talked about. But, Hokage-jiji would've told him about it if it was true... right? Hokage-jiji had never lied to him. Had he?

"Naruto...? Naruto, are you okay?" Fuki asked.

There had always been times when Hokage-jiji looked like he wanted to tell him about something. So, could what the teenager had said be true? He seemed to know a lot about all of them and had freely revealed that he specialized in gathering information. It wouldn't be that big of a leap to say that Genin had found out information about the Uzumaki Clan when he was... gathering information. Was it true? What did it mean if the information _was_ true?

... It meant that Hokage-jiji had been withholding information from him. And, if that was true, then what else had Hokage-jiji been withholding from him? What—? Naruto felt something strong grab his shoulder and start to shake him. He startled and blinked a couple of times to clear his suddenly blurry vision. In front of him were the concerned faces of his teammates and it was Fuki who had been shaking him.

"Are you okay?"

Besides having his faith in Hokage-jiji shaken and almost having a panic attack, he was fine. "Yes." Naruto replied before he moved away, shrugging off Fuki's hand. "I guess I was just surprised about what that guy said, is all."

Sasuke and Fuki looked like they wanted to respond, call him on the too obvious lie, but didn't have the chance to do so. This was because there was a "boom" as over a dozen people appeared in the front of the classroom in an enormous cloud of white smoke. Standing in front of the group was the infamous visage of Ibiki Morino, Head of ANBU Torture and Interrogation.

"Sit down and shut up!"

* * *

Techniques:

* * *

1. Kiton: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu (Gas Release: Explosion Technique): A recreation of the Konbijutsu: Bakuhatsu no Jutsu. It starts with the user using Kiton to spread gas around an area. When there is enough gas, the user will then throw a number of exploding tags into the cloud of gas before activating them. This results in an enormous explosion. C-Rank. Ninjutsu. Mid-Range.


	20. Meet the Team:

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

* * *

Legend:

"Someone is talking."  
_'Someone is thinking.'_  
"A technique is being used."

* * *

Meet the Team:

* * *

Three hours after he was supposed to have arrived, the man known as Hatake Kakashi finally opened the door and walked into Umino Iruka's classroom to meet his new team. He wasn't that excited about the team, but that could have been because Kakashi had never been excited about any of the teams that the Sandaime Hokage had tried to have him teach. Before he had tested and subsequently failed each and every one of those teams, of course.

It was Haruno Sakura that Kakashi noticed first. It was interesting to see that she had grown out her hair—which now ended at her mid-back as opposed to beneath her shoulders—and had placed a white hairclip on the right side of her hair, holding back her bangs. She had also seemed to have decided to get a new outfit as she was dressed in a long-sleeved white shirt with black trim, white hakama tied with a black Konohagakure Hitai-ite, and black sandals.

_'So, it seems that someone has decided that a change was in order.'_ Kakashi thought.

It was, however, the next of the silver-haired man's would-be students that caused him to do a double-take. Sakura's change in appearance could be explained through something that had happened to her; one of her parents, Iruka, or one of her peers talking to her about the life of a shinobi. That explanation didn't make sense when put onto the second would-be Genin as, according to his profile, he was too thick-headed and stubborn to change that easily.

Uzumaki Naruto was calmly standing next to a window and looking out into the Academy courtyard. Not only was the change from a reported hyperactive prankster who should have been bouncing off the walls disturbing, so was Naruto's new appearance. Naruto was now dressed in a half-white, half-orange ankle-length jacket that was opened enough to reveal that he was wearing a white dress-shirt and a red bowtie underneath it. He had also dyed his hair—the left side orange and the right side white—to match his new outfit.

_'What's wrong with him?' _Kakashi thought with a slight shudder.

Turning away in an attempt to distract himself, Kakashi was able to locate his final student, Uchia Sasuke, sitting away from Sakura with a reddish and vaguely hand-shaped mark on his cheek. Like his teammates, he too seemed to have traded in his outfit. He was wearing a long-sleeved blue coat, blue pants, black boots, and white gloves. To finish his new look, Sasuke's hair had been flattened, no longer sticking up in the back.

"Hmm... My first of impression of you guys is…" Kakashi began to say, instantly earning the attention of all three would-be Genin as they heard and then turned around to face him. "I think you must be colorblind. Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

XXXXXX

After vanishing from Iruka's classroom, Kakashi had gone to the roof and pulled out Icha Icha Paradise to read while he waited. He had just gotten to one of his favorite parts in the book when he noticed the presence of his would-be students and, sighing, put away his book before looking up to face them. "Okay. Let's start with introducing ourselves, shall we?"

"What would you like to know?" Sakura asked.

"Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future..." Kakashi said before he shrugged, "That sort of thing. In fact, why don't you go first since you asked?"

Sakura looked at him for a moment, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like to read, practice my calligraphy, and train. My dislikes include perverts—" Sakura glared at Sasuke who flinched as if he had been struck again before turning away to sulk. "—people who can't pull their own weight, and people too stupid for their own good. My dreams for the future...?" She paused for a moment, apparently thinking about it. "My dream is to surpass Tsunade-sama one day."

"Alright, next." Kakashi said with a brief gesture to Naruto, thinking about what Sakura had revealed. It made sense that Sakura would change if she had talked to someone and got her head screwed on straight, but the sudden dislike of Sasuke? Hadn't her file said that she was apart of the group that fawned over the Uchiha? What could have changed that? _'Hm. What indeed.'_

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto began in a surprisingly calm and even-toned voice. "My likes include Tsunade-sama and medicine in general. I dislike... water. My dream for the future..."

Apparently, that was all that Naruto was willingly to say as he left his sentence hanging and made no move to continue talking. This combined with Naruto's change in appearance, Sakura's change in appearance and attitude, and Sasuke's change were beginning to add up. Something was wrong here. Very wrong.

"... Why don't you go next, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked. While he could already predict that what Sasuke was going to say wouldn't match up with what he would say under similar circumstances, according to his personality profile, Kakashi wanted to make sure. A small part of his mind wanted to believe that this... change... in his would-be students hadn't really affected Sasuke too. That he remained who he was personality wise and had just decided that he wanted different clothes because they would help him fight better.

At the mention of his name, Sasuke turned around as if he hadn't just been sulking and nodded. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I like girls—" He spared a glance at Sakura, who sniffed at him. "—and spending my time when them. I dislike any and all forms of paperwork and the rain." He put a gloved finger to his chin, revealing a strange logo emblazoned on it to Kakashi as the boy thought. "My dream... I want to become the next Hokage."

During Sasuke's introduction, Kakashi's tiny sliver of hope died like a flame that had been snuffed out. With that came a return of Kakashi's earlier unease and confusion.

_'How could each of them have changed so much? Sakura's change in personality could be explained, but Naruto and Sasuke's? For Naruto to become calm and not even mention his dream of becoming Hokage and for Sasuke to want to spend time with someone as opposed to training by himself to get_ stronger...' Kakashi frowned,_ 'What could possibly have happened to these three?'_

"—ello? Are you even paying attention?!" Sasuke demanded, face cast in an irritated expression.

Kakashi looked at him, "What were you saying?"

"Hmph! Some teacher you'll be!" Sasuke bit out angrily, crossing his arms. "You're already showing that you're either absentminded and will get distracted easily or that you simply don't pay attention and won't really focus on teaching us. I repeat: some teacher you'll be."

"Sasuke—" Kakashi began to say.

"—Sensei." Naruto said, interupting the silver-haired man and causing said man to turn his attention to him. "Sasuke was trying to ask you if you would care to introduce yourself to us. After all, we introduced ourselves to you and it would be fair if you showed us the same courtesy." He pulled out a glass of red wine from seemingly nowhere and took a sip, closing his eyes. "... Well?"

...

And, just like that, Kakashi's earlier concern can back, full-force. '_How could they have all changed so quickly? While Naruto is still wearing orange, he isn't shifting about and didn't raise his voice once since I've met him! Sakura has grown much more mature than she was but also colder... I believe she even believes that Sasuke is weaker than her somehow.'_

Kakashi paused mid-thought. _'And Sasuke... His personality has changed the most. According to his file, he had both an inferiority and superiority complex... But now... He actually seems relatively normal... a bit perverted, but normal.' _He frowned. _'What happened to these three?'_

"-ello? Are you paying attention?" Sasuke demanded with an irritated scowl.

Kakashi blinked, "What were you saying?"

"Hmph! Some teacher you'll be! You are already showing that you don't pay us that much attention!" Sasuke bit out angrily before he frowned, crossing his arms.

"Sasuke—" Kakashi began.

"Sensei, what Sasuke was trying to ask was 'would you care to introduce yourself?'" Naruto interuppted before he took a sip out of the glass of wine he had just pulled out from... somewhere. "... Well?"

Kakashi could only stare at Naruto for a couple of moments, unnerved by the calm way he was speaking and wondering if he should speak to him about drinking. Finally, he shook his head and decided to ignore it for now. Once he found out what had caused the changes, he could talk to Naruto... if he and the other two passed his test.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes... are to inappropriate for young, impressionable children like yourselves to hear. My dislikes..." Kakashi paused for a moment before leaning back and closing his eye until it resembled a "U". "... are none of your business. And my dream for the future..."

"What?! After all we told you, all we learned was your _name_?" Sasuke snapped.

Sasuke made to lunge at Kakashi and strangle him but was stopped as Sakura quickly seized a handful of the black-haired boy's uniform and held on. Sasuke struggled within Sakura's grip, murder in his eyes, but could do little else. Once he realized this, Sasuke scowled before he made to do something with his hands.

"My, my, my..." Naruto said as he got involved, grabbing Sasuke's right hand and preventing him from completing whatever he had been attempting to do. Sasuke glared up at him angrily. "I don't believe that you should do that, Sasuke-kun. I mean, why would we want to reveal our skills before tomorrow's test?"

Kakashi's eye widened, _'How does he know about the test?' _He made to open his mouth and question them about it, as would-be Genin such as themselves shouldn't know of the test, but never got the chance. Naruto placed his wine glass-holding hand on Sakura's shoulder while Sasuke muttered inaudibly and Sakura sighed. In the next instant, they vanished within a burst of static-like sound and left Kakashi even more confused. "What just happened?"

XXXXXX

(Konohagakure no Sato—Third Training Ground)

Somehow, despite the fact that Kakashi had never stated where his would-be students' test would take place—or at what time he expected them to be there—they had found out. It was another mystery to add onto why they had all changed as, according to the nervous instructor he had questioned, they had been exactly the way their profiles portrayed them to be a couple of days ago.

"Oh, it's _you_." Sasuke said disdainfully.

"Now, now Sasuke... is that anyway to treat someone who might become our sensei?" Naruto asked with a chiding tone present in his voice. Kakashi turned and saw that the former blonde was leaning with his back against a tree, now sipping more wine from his increasingly present wine glass. "You should try to at least pretend you don't hate him."

Sasuke's frown transformed into a scowl before he glared at Naruto. It infuriated him that Naruto didn't even seem to notice, or care, that he was angry at him. If he didn't need that emotionless bastard, Sasuke swore that he would've burned Naruto to a crisp by now.

"You should stop acting so immaturely, Sasuke." Sakura muttered from behind her left sleeve, disapproval present as she looked at the black-haired boy. "It makes you appear weaker than you actually are."

At the sound of that voice, Sasuke's anger dissipated in a flash. He turned to look at her, eyes and heart full of hurt and longing. Sakura was the only woman to have ever resisted him and his charm. Moreso, she had even went so far as to slap him. That sign should have deterred him but, instead, it only made him more eager to finally win her over. _'One day...'_

Kakashi clapped his hands together, instantly interrupting the three would-be students of his and causing them to turn their attention to him. "Okay!" He said brightly, "We'll begin the test right after I finish explaining how it works—"

"—About time" Sasuke muttered.

The silver-haired man pretended he hadn't heard that. Instead, he withdrew out a small alarm clock and placed it onto a nearby tree-stump. "This alarm clock has been set to go off at noon," He explaiend as he pulled out a pair of pairs and quickly tied them to his belt. "Your task is to get one of these bells before noon."

"There are only two bells." Sakura stated.

"I'm glad that you pointed that out, Sakura!" Kakashi said as he closed his eye, smiling underneath his mask. "You see... with only two bells, it means that one of you three will automatically fail this test and be sent back to the Academy." He opened his eye to catch the standard look of shock and wasn't dissapointed, much, as Sasuke's eyes widened. Sakura and Naruto didn't react at all. "As for who fails, well, that depends on who gets their hands on the bells. Now, any questions?"

"... Are we allowed to use shuriken and kunai?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi nodded, "Yes. You can use any weapon you like as long as they help you get a bell. In fact, you three should do your best to come at me with the intention to kill me. Otherwise, you'll never be able to defeat me and get a bell."

"Of course."

"Now... Ready—" Naruto put down his wine glass and flowed into a loose stance, "Set—" Sakura took a step backwards before she raised her right arm and pointed it at him, a pinkish glow beginning to shine from the inside of her long sleeve. Sasuke pulled on his right glove, making sure that it was fully secure. "Go!"

As soon as the word "go" had left Kakashi's mouth, each of the silver-haired man's would-be students leapt into action. Sakura pulled back her sleeve to reveal the chakra she had been gathering around her first before, making a punching motion, began sending "bullet"-shaped bursts of chakra towards him. At the same time, Sasuke jumped backwards so as to not get caught within Sakura's attack while simply stood and watched, both waiting to see how Kakashi would react before trying to attack him themselves.

It was a good start, but Kakashi had been prepared for a sudden attack. So when Sakura had begun her attack, Kakashi had been able to easily sidestep the first burst before he began to weave in and around her attacks. He made sure to move as little as possible so as to conserve his energy and possibly anger his would-be student into making a mistake. It didn't seem to be working, though, and his would-be students saw that.

So they took action.

Kakashi didn't know when but Naruto had moved so that he was within Sakura's barrage of chakra bursts just as the rate of which they were fired at began to decrease. That led to Kakashi meeting Naruto's punch after he had dodged one of Sakura's projectiles with his arm. He twisted around to kick Naruto away from him and out of the way of the new projectiles, only to lean backwards when what appeared to be a giant pair of razor-sharp scissors came close to his throat.

The silver-haired man caught sight of Naruto's left arm transforming into another pair of scissors before he using it to stab Kakashi in the stomach. Only, Naruto would have, if Kakashi hadn't dropped to the ground before twisting his legs to knock the former blond over. Naruto wasn't disturbed at all and simply rolled away as one of Sakura's chakra bursts impacted where his head was and, getting up, moved to face Kakashi again.

_'At least he appears to have retained that determination his file spoke of.'_ Kakashi thought as he quickly retrieved and brought up one of his kunai to block Naruto's right scissor-arm. _'He seems to favor this unique variation of Henge. It speaks a lot about whatever happened to the boy that he would develop enough control to and keep up a partial transformation like this. And his speed... it's above what you would expect from someone his age.'_

Without any kind of warning, a second pair of scissors grew out from the front of Naruto's left elbow, long enough for the blades to brush against the sides o Kakashi's neck. "Shizā Zanshu (Scissor Beheading)." Naruto intoned Kakashi's eyes widened before the scissors closed with a snap.

Only, instead of flesh and bone, Naruto's scissors cut through wood.

In the nearby woods, Kakashi remembered the encounter and frowned. It had showed him that Naruto was not limited to just using his unique jutsu to transform his arms into scissors: he could transform other parts of his body as well and even form scissors where he shouldn't be able to. If Kakashi hadn't been able to pull off that Kawarmi in time, then Naruto's little trick might have worked on him. _'Well, I did tell them to come at me with the intent to kill...'_

"There you are." Snap.

The following moments held witness to Kakashi as he used a chakra-enhanced jump to move away from the explosion where he had been kneeling at before. It was more than that, though, as the area around Kakashi kept erupting into flaming explosions. If it wasn't for the fact that Kakashi's momentum was moving him away from the blasts, he was sure that he would already have a couple of new burns. If not more, though Kakashi was confident that he would have been able to escape before he could be fully caught within the explosions.

The distant sound of Sasuke snapping his fingers suddenly changed. With it came a change to what was happening around Kakashi. While before the area around him was erupting into fiery explosions that consumed everything within them, anything that the silver-haired man's could have landed on to erupt into flames.

Soon enough, Kakashi was forced to land against the side of a tree and pushing off again before an explosion from right behind knocked him forward and scorched the back of his flak jacket. He tried to land on the trunk of another tree but Sasuke seemed to expect this and quickly snapped his fingers: the area become enveloped in flames.

_'This is getting a little annoying.'_ Kakashi thought as he readjusted his course, grabbing onto a non-burning branch before using it to swing himself higher into the air. While in mid-air, he quickly pulled down his facemask and opened his mouth to unleash an enormous burst of water before unleashing a sharp burst of wind that, upon hitting the water, scattered it throughout the air like rain. '_That should be enough to—!'_

Accompanied with the sound of static, Sakura suddenly appeared in front of the silver-haired man as he began to fall. Kakashi blocked her leg with his own as she tried to kick him in the side, wincing slightly as he did so. Why did he feel as if he had just kicked metal? He didn't get the chance to come up with an answer to that question as Sakura twsited around and sent her other leg at him, which he blocked, before a familar pink glow appeared in front of her sleeve. The energy gathered until it was the size and shape of a baseball.

Kakashi was quick enough to kick Sakura away from him before quickly grabbing her arm and forcing it upwards as she lost hold of it. Released, the sphere exploded outwards in a conical beam of energy that all-but screamed with power as it tore through the air. _'If Sakura had been allowed to hit me with that...'_ Kakashi thought as he kicked away from Sakura, letting go of her arm as she brought her other, holding a sai, to try and attack the arm restraining her.

"You're stronger than you look." Sakura stated as they both landed on top of the top of no-longering burning treetops. Kakashi inclined his head as if to agree with her (as she and his other two would-be students were far stronger than they looked) before he was forced to move around as the air around him grew heavy and erupted into flames. Sakura pulled back her sleeve again, unleashing another barrage of pink chakra bursts towards Kakashi. "Bala (Bullet)."

Below them, Naruto quickly used his scissor-arms to cut through the base of the tree that Kakashi had been standing on. The tree behaved oddly like paper as he used his other scissor-arm to grab hold of the tree before it could fall and then hurled it towards Kakashi.

Kakashi smiled as he allowed himself to fall. While it filled him with unease, seeing further proof that his would-be students had changed, it also filled him with some excitement. He had never believed that Genin fresh out of the Academy would be able to press him so far. Admitedly, his students' skills were not yet enough for him to truly get serious and reveal his Sharingan, but he hadn't expected them to.

Still smiling, Kakashi used a Kawamari to replace himself with the tree rushing towards him. "Nice try, but it'll take more than that for you guys to defeat me and get these bells." He said as he watched Sakura's chakra bursts, she called her technique "Bala", impact against the tree and send wooden splinters and mulch flying in all directions.

Three things happened at once.

The first was that Sakura vanished within a burst of static and reappeared above Kakashi, aiming to cut into Kakashi's left shoulder with her sai. The second was that Sasuke came into view with a scowl, surprisingly dry considering that he had been caught in the earlier downpour. The third was that Naruto jumped up from below, right scissor-arm aimed towards Kakashi's stomach.

Kakashi ducked to avoid Sakura's sai and twisted to the side before Naruto's scissor-arm could do more than cut the cloth of his pants. Both of the would-be Genin turned to face him and begin their mid-air attack anew, but the silver-haired man was already going through some hand-seals. He was about to unleash his technique, a Genjutsu, but wasn't able to finish it due to one forgotten factor: Sasuke. Flames erupted on Kakashi's hands and disrupted his concentration enough that his technique fell apart. A second later, Sakura's sai cut into his flak jacket while Naruto used a transformed limb to stab into Kakashi's lower abdomen, causing him to grit his teeth from the pain.

A moment later, a faint shrieking filled the air as Kakashi began to channel lightning-natured chakra through his skin. It was painful to do during such short notice, but it helped counter the would-be Genin attacking him by having the lightning channel into their bodies from where they came into contact with him, making them fall back. Landing on the ground, he ended the technique and then watched as his students landed around him.

"None of you have managed to get a bell yet." Kakashi said as he began to gather his chakra in preparation. He even thought about revealing his Sharingan but, while they were beginning to push him, there was no need to use it yet. "So, c'mon... You guys don't have all day, you know."

Sasuke slammed his hands against the ground, where he had been using his right foot to draw a crude symbol. "Of course." He said as the symbol lit up with chakra before the earth rumbled ominously. In moments, the area underneath Kakashi's feet changed, becoming thick earthen spikes, that Kakashi was forced to dodge over. Only, one of the spikes grew smaller before a vertical lance was launched towards the silver-haired man.

"Is that it?" Kakashi asked as he replaced himself with one of the spikes, watching as it collided with the lance and both fell apart. A handful of shuriken were thrown towards Sasuke only moments afterward, forcing him away from the circle, before he was forced to dodge as Naruto came at him from behind. "Really? You think that'll work?"

At the last moment, Naruto jumped into the air before leaning forward to grab onto his legs. Hundreds of scissors sprouted over the former blonde's body until he resembled a hedgehog more than he did a human. "Toge no hasami (Spiny Scissors)."

To add onto the attack, Sakura appeared behind Naruto before raising her leg and twisting it to hit Naruto. It didn't seem to cause any detrimental effects to Sakura, but the force behind it sent Naruto hurtling towards Kakashi at a speed rivaling that of a wind-enhanced arrow. If that was not enough, Sasuke got back into the fight by snapping his fingers again; the area in front and around Kakashi quickly erupted into flames. _'Not a bad strategy...'_

Naruto crashed through the area where Kakashi had stood moments before, cratering and cutting into the ground in a manner akin to a meteor with teeth. Kakashi, despite having used the Kawarmi to dodge once again, found his vision consumed by white. Somehow Sakura had seemed to know what he was going to do and had used that speed-enhancing technique of hers to appear where she believed he would appear a moment before he did. So, when he got there, she was able to slam her fist into his stomach and send him hurtling backwards.

_' _

Snap.

This time, Kakashi's belt caught on fire just as his back crashed against a tree. Recovering, he quickly patted down his belt. He made to pick up the bells, as the fire had burned away the wire connecting them to his belt, only to suddenly jump forward as his "danger sense" started screaming at him. It was good that he had done so as, not a moment later, a giant pair of scissors cut through the tree. Naruto was revealed to be standing behind the tree as it flew away from him, pulling back the scissor-arm he had used to cut it down.

"Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Release: Earth Flow River)!" With his mask pulled down, Kakashi opened his mouth to unleash a stream of mud towards Naruto. The technique obviously caught the former blonde off-guard and, as a result, Kakashi had the pleasure of watching him be caught within it as it travelled forward. Ending the technique, he moved to go over to where he had lost the bells, stopped as the area around him caught fire. _'Sasuke.'_

"Get the bells." Sasuke's voice called from further into the forest.

Kakashi was about to respond, saying how using him to get the bells wasn't part of the test, when he caught a slight shimmering. He turned his attention to it and saw a pale hand emerge from seemingly nowhere and reach towards the non-burning area around where the bells were. _'Sakura!' _

In the distance, an alarm clock began blaring. Kakashi, who had moved to stop Sakura before she could get the bells and retreat back into whatever illusionary technique she was using, stopped. His eye closed in a familiar "U"-shape as Sakura ended her technique and appeared with an unhappy frown on her face. Sasuke emerged from the area twenty feet away, holding back his urge to curse, and gritted his teeth upon seeing just how happy Kakashi looked.

XXXXX

It was only when Kakashi walked back into the main, ruined clearing of the Third Training Grounds did he realize something was wrong. It wasn't noon yet: he had been tricked. This conclusion was only supported by the sight of Naruto sitting near the stump with the alarm clock on it, sipping wine. What was worse was that the former blonde had the bells in his hand.

"How?"

"Soon after the battle had begun, I came back and tinkered with the alarm clock so that it would sound its alarm earlier than you had intended. From there I rejoined the battle and joined in with Sasuke-san and Sakura-san as we continued to battle against you." Naruto admitted before taking another sip of wine. "As for "how" I got the bells, I merely retrieved them when you left them where they lay and came back here to enjoy some wine."

That was...

"Bastard." Sasuke grumbled with a glare at the former blonde, "You could have at least filled us in on the plan."

Naruto looked up, "This plan of mine was designed to act as a last resort. You see, the test that Kakashi-san assigned to us didn't make sense when considering the standard three-man Genin team. So, with that in mind, it was easy to figure out that Kakashi-san was lying to us about the test and intentionally trying to have us make our own attempts to get the bells instead of working together. Only, even if it wasn't intentional, we worked together to press Kakashi-san until the "end" of the test."

"... I hate you." Sasuke said.

"I know, Sasuke-san."

Kakashi sighed and tried thinking about reasons he would want to fail the three would-be Genin, but decided against it. He wouldn't be able to find out what had happened to them as easily as he could find out if he was actually their sensei. "... You pass."

* * *

Techniques:

1. Shizā Zanshu (Scissor Beheading): After getting close to an enemy, Naruto will use his Choki Choki no Mi (Snip Snip Fruit) to transform his elbow into a giant pair of scissors in an attempt to decapitate him/her. B-rank Offensive Taijutsu.

2. Bala (Bullet): A technique in which the user gathers and then hardens their energy before releasing it in a swift yet potent blast of concussive energy. This technique is one that can be repeated in quick succession though the speed at which they are fired at is dependant on the user. C-rank Ninjutsu.

3. Toge no hasami (Spiny Scissors): While in the air, Naruto will use the power of his Choki Choki no Mi to sprout scissors all around his body until he resembled a rolled-up hedgehog or porcupine. He will then fall onto an opponent while rapidly opening and closing the scissors to cut into anything that gets in his way. C-rank Offensive Taijutsu.

4. Doton: Doryū Taiga (Earth Release: Earth Flow River): A technique in which the user either uses their chakra to transform the earth underneath a person's feet into a river of mud or release a stream of mud from their mouths that transforms into a river as the technique continues. C-rank Offensive Ninjutsu.

* * *

**A/N: Author's Note:** This is a revamped version of my take on the "Insanely Overpowered Team Seven" that was inspired by the "Team Nightmare" series done by Highvalour and "A Freak, a Creep, and a Psychopath" by Legendary Legacy. If anyone hasn't caught it, here are the characters that the Genin of Team Seven have been turned into:

Naruto has become Inazuma from One Piece. Having eaten the Choki Choki no Mi, he can transform any part of his body into scissors to attack or defend with. In addition, when cutting into something, it assumes an oddly paper-like state which he can control until he either stops cutting or releases it where it becomes normal again.

Sakura has become Cyan Sung-Sun from Bleach. As an Arrancar, she has access to the standard Arrancar abilities (Bala, Cero, Hierro, and Sonido) as well as a unique camoflouging ability. She also has access to a Resserecution that allows her to assume a lamia-like form, create and manipulate snakes, and an enhanced version of her Muta technique.

Sasuke has become Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist. He is known as the "Flame Alchemist" and, by rubbing his fingers together while wearing special gloves, can manipulate flames. His left hand allows him a finer control of flames while his right hand allows him to create fiery explosions.


End file.
